Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who sustained serious injuries while foiling an alleged attempt by his co-pilot to crash a flydubai flight, is in good health and recovering well, the Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Thursday.
Machchhar was stabbed and seriously injured by his co-pilot in the cockpit of flydubai flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The aircraft, carrying 174 people, was forced to make an emergency landing in Tabuk in northwest Saudi Arabia.
In a social media post on Thursday, the Indian mission said Indian Ambassador to the UAE Deepak Mittal visited Machchhar and his family at the hospital.
“Captain Machchhar is in good health and recovering well,” the embassy said.
Amb @d_mittal73 visited Captain Smit Machchhar and his family at the hospital. Captain Machchhar is in good health and recovering well.
The Embassy remains in close coordination with local authorities to ensure his continued medical care and well-being.
— India in UAE (@IndembAbuDhabi) October 1, 2026
Machchhar was subsequently shifted to the UAE, a day after he was admitted to a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia for necessary medical attention.
“The Embassy remains in close coordination with local authorities to ensure his continued medical care and well-being,” the Indian mission in the UAE said.
Omani co-pilot stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar during flight
On Wednesday night, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh had said that Machchhar was “admitted in a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia and receiving necessary medical attention”. He was “reported to be in stable condition”, it added.
Passengers on the flight reached Israel safely on Wednesday after the alleged attempt by the co-pilot to crash the aircraft was foiled.
The co-pilot, identified by Israeli officials as an Omani national, stabbed Machchhar before the aircraft plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, according to reports.
Machchhar was reportedly covered in blood on the cockpit floor when he managed to use what was described as the “last moments of his energy” to click open the release on the cockpit door, The Times of Israel reported, quoting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson Doron Spielman.
The report said the opening of the cockpit door allowed passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot. Two additional flydubai pilots who were travelling on board then assisted in landing the aircraft in Tabuk.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently hailed Machchhar as a “true hero” in a statement.
(With PTI inputs)
