The Flydubai captain stabbed by his co-pilot said he could not “let everybody else die” as he spoke out for the first time since the mid-flight attack.
Speaking to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a video call, Smit Machchhar recalled the moment he was attacked by his colleague on the floor of the cockpit on Wednesday.
It was at this moment that the Indian national realised the plane was dropping and that he had to act, even though he was “fighting for his life.”
“I was lying on the floor injured but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from the inside,” he said.
“Everybody came and also played a role. I was of course fighting for my own life but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die,” he said.
He added that even at this moment, the attacker was still “beating” him up.
Cpt Machchhar appeared in the interview, which has since been shared on social media by Mr Modi, wearing a cannula with his head bandaged from his injuries.
Flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai on Wednesday morning and was headed for Tel Aviv in Israel.
But just two and a half hours into the flight, Mr Machchhar’s co-pilot launched a violent attack, as he attempted to take control of the flight in what has been described by the Israeli Prime Minister as a planned “9/11” terror plot.
Cpt Machchhar was able to open the cockpit door from the inside, alerting passengers and crew, who were able to overpower the attacker and land the plane.
One of those was Israeli passenger Asaf Rajuan, who described how he put the attacker into a chokehold and pinned him down on the flight.
The plane was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, saving all 180 people on board the flight.
Cpt Machchhar and the passengers who overpowered the attacker have been praised for their “heroic” actions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the video call with Cpt Machchhar, Mr Modi praised the captain’s “courage, patience, and quick decision-making” which “saved the lives of so many people.”
The Prime Minister added that the whole country was proud of him.
Cpt Machchhar responded: “Now that you have called me, I am really proud of myself. I wasn't proud before this, but now I am.”
Cpt Machchhar was pictured on Wednesday evening in social media reports depicting the incident. He appeared bloodied and injured as he was transported to hospital in Saudi Arabia.
It is understood that the Indian captain is now recovering well at a hospital in Abu Dhabi and in stable condition following the attack.
In the interview, Cpt Machchhar added that his daughter had visited him in hospital, but was scared by his injuries. His second child, a son, has not seen him yet.
Cpt Machchhar is an Indian national with more than a decade of aviation experience. He has formerly worked at Indian airline SpiceJet.
His family are in the textile industry, but after discovering his passion for aviation during his studies, he decided to pursue a career as a pilot.
He has been credited with training and mentoring young pilots, logging more than 9,500 flying hours, including over 6,400 as pilot-in-command.
At the time of the incident, Mr Modi said on X that Cpt Machchhar had “helped to save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy.”
“In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others,” Mr Modi said.
Mr Netanyahu said on Wednesday: “Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, [Captain Machchhar] fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic midair disaster.”
Mr Trump also hailed Cpt Machchhar a “hero” as he told reporters in the Oval Office that the co-pilot was “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job” on Wednesday.
