Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised Captain Smit Machchhar after the Indian pilot helped avert disaster during a cockpit attack aboard a flydubai flight…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar for his actions during a mid-air cockpit attack, saying the Indian pilot’s courage helped protect passengers and the reputation of Indian pilots.
Speaking to Machchhar during a video call on Friday, Modi said the consequences could have been very different had the captain been unable to respond to the crisis. Machchhar is undergoing treatment in the UAE after sustaining serious injuries during the incident.
“Had this not happened, who knows what India would have had to face, what all Indian pilots would have had to endure, and how Indian pilots would have been viewed. You have saved everyone. You have done a very big thing,” Modi told Machchhar.
The Prime Minister also said the incident demonstrated the courage and values associated with Indians.
“The country can proudly say that Indians are not those who take lives, but those who are willing to risk their lives to save others,” he said.
During the conversation, Machchhar, 39, recalled the ordeal and said he had been reciting the Hanuman Chalisa while attempting to respond to the attack.
“I had suffered so many injuries, but I told myself that I had to get up and act. If I did not, I would be dead,” Machchhar told the Prime Minister.
Machchhar was reportedly flying an Israel-bound flydubai aircraft when his Omani co-pilot allegedly attempted to take control of the aircraft during a mid-air altercation. Despite suffering serious injuries, the captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to enter and restrain the attacker.
The quick response reportedly helped prevent an apparent hijacking of the flight, which was carrying more than 170 people. The aircraft subsequently landed safely, while the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
The incident has generated discussion on social media, including speculation about how responsibility might have been assigned had the aircraft crashed. Some posts questioned whether the Indian captain could have faced scrutiny over the safety of the flight despite the circumstances of the attack.
The discussion has also emerged amid continuing attention on the investigation into the 2025 Air India AI171 crash in Ahmedabad.
The Air India flight crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad for London on June 12, 2025. Of the 242 people on board, 241 died, while 19 people on the ground were also killed.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s investigation into that crash was subsequently described by the government as being at an advanced stage.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the flydubai incident remains underway. The airline has also temporarily suspended flights to and from Israel following the mid-air altercation.
Authorities are expected to examine the events inside the cockpit, the actions of the crew and the circumstances that led to the emergency during the flight.
