flydubai incident: Israel calls injured Indian captain a hero

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said, that Saudi authorities have arrested the pilot of a Flydubai flight who allegedly stabbed another pilot and attempted to crash the aircraft carrying Israeli passengers. Netanyahu said passengers and crew members managed to subdue the attacker, preventing what he described as a major disaster. He praised those on board for their courage and quick response, saying they had saved many lives.
According to Israeli media reports, an Indian national was the captain of Flydubai flight FZ1073 while the co-pilot was an Omani national who was suspected of attempting to crash the aircraft. The report said the Indian captain fought with the co-pilot to prevent the aircraft from crashing. Reports said, the signal was apparently triggered by an altercation between the pilots in the cockpit. Israeli passengers later intervened and helped restrain the co-pilot. The aircraft subsequently landed safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. Pilot has been identified as Smit Machchhar, an Indian national.Israel’s Foreign Ministry called Flydubai Flight 1073 captain Smit Machchhar a “hero” after he was stabbed in the cockpit.
US President Donald Trump praised Flydubai pilot Captain Smit Machchhar and an Israeli passenger after the cockpit attack on the flight. Trump described the pilot and passenger as heroes, saying the pilot managed to “level out the plane” after being attacked, while the passenger helped remove the attacker from the cockpit.
Netanyahu paid tribute to the “extraordinary bravery" of Captain Smit Machchhar with a post on X. He commended Captain Machchhar for "preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster." "Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster," Netanyahu wrote. "He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals."