Indian Pilot Captain Smit Machhar Attacked with Sharp Weapon on Flight, Honored as a Hero During Israel Visit

Officials have confirmed that Indian citizen Captain Smit Machhar was attacked with a sharp weapon aboard a flight headed to Israel on Wednesday. The incident occurred on a Flydubai plane en route to Tel Aviv, where another pilot attacked Captain Machhar, forcing the aircraft to divert to Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the captain as a ‘true hero’ and reported that the seriously injured pilot was taken to a hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, for treatment. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh has stated that his condition remains stable. In a tweet, Netanyahu praised Captain Machhar for saving ‘174 lives’ and successfully preventing a catastrophic mid-air incident.

Captain Machhar was born in Mumbai, India, where his parents still reside. He enrolled at Mainland Aviation College in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 2008. Three years later, he began working as a commercial pilot with Indian airline SpiceJet. In 2022, he joined Flydubai as an experienced pilot.

The Flydubai flight FZ 1073 departed Dubai International Airport at 3:05 GMT, bound for Ben Gurion Airport, Israel. The aircraft carried more than 150 passengers, mostly Israeli nationals, according to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Initial Israeli reports noted a conflict between two pilots, but Netanyahu later revealed that one pilot attacked the other with a sharp weapon, attempting to cause a crash.