‘I was fighting for my life’: Indian pilot hailed as hero recalls flydubai cockpit attack
Smit Machchhar says in video call with Indian PM that he realised if he did not get up then ‘passengers would lose their lives’
The Indian pilot who helped thwart an apparent attempt to crash a flydubai flight has described how he fought for his life in the minutes after his co-pilot stabbed him and the plane began a steep descent.
Capt Smit Machchhar, who is recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, told the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, in a video call broadcast live on television news channels that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save the passengers onboard.
“I had so many wounds. I had fallen down,” he said on Friday from the hospital, his head bandaged and tubes in his nose, before breaking down as he recalled the attack.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/02/indian-pilot-smit-machchhar-recalls-flydubai-cockpit-attackOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
21 replies
It's unbelievable how many things had to go right, in order to avoid tragedy. In these dark times, I've almost forgotten how events unexpectedly turning out better than they could have been feels. Just a re-cap:
I know, and it happens to give an image boost to netanhymie right before a critical election, and it all happened on Saudi flight right after benji just had a 6 hour meeting with Saudi leadership
So many coincidences!
I really really doubt that the pilot volunteered to get stabbed several times and receive life threatening injuries. Take your conspiracy theory aluminium hat off and please go outside. I suggest taking a nice walk.
If Israel hasn't carried out countless false flag operations, then this story would be more believable.
Let's not forget that Israel and bibi himself had received several warnings about the Oct 7 attack and still didn't do anything. There's no limit to what bibi would do ahead of elections right now
The oct 7 pre warning meme is the dumbest shit.
What meme?
That isreal knew the attack was coming and moved assets away so that it was more devastating.
Its meme. Its complete bullshit and a lot of people intentionally spread it because it muddys the water. I'm not saying this person is one of those people, its very possible they are just dumb and think its true because its been repeated so many times.
Lol, yeah, Israeli news reporting on it and their own politicians talking about it must make it false. Are you Patrick star? Living under a rock?
Not that I believe this theory, but the pilot definitely would not have needed to be in on it. Actually quite convenient he was neither Saudi nor Israeli.
Indian ethno nationalists (hindutvas) who support Modi are very pro Israel because they're cut from the same cloth
I wonder what would have happened without the second crew. Would they have tried to instruct someone how to land?
It has been done before. The ones I know about:
This is only possible since the ATCs, etc, clear the air for the emergency and do everything they can to make it possible.
It would’ve been more difficult in this case since the plane had suffered damage during the dive and recovery.
Ted Striker also managed it in 1980
I guess he was already a bit of a pilot, so maybe it does not count.
The attacker also had to be an idiot.
I don't understand how he didn't succeed. He was a copilot, all he had to do was stay in the cockpit with the door closed?
Why leave and then face a crowd of people when crashing the plane would have killed everyone anyways. Also allowed other people into the cockpit to stop the descent.
I don't think he left the cockpit at all. The door was opened by the pilot using buttons near his seat, not by the copilot.
Some points:
I mean, yeah, all these things had to go right indeed, but their likelihoods are not at all as low as your comment makes it look.
Great. Now airline hijackings are back in style. Just what the fucking world needed right now - freelance crazies and weirdos. WTF earthlings? what the actual fuck is the matter with you fuckers?
Hanuman <3
Could the whole thing be a false flag event