- Indian pilot Smit Machchhar stable in Tabuk hospital after incident.
- Heroically overpowered co-pilot, preventing Flydubai flight crash.
- Saved 174 passengers on Dubai-Tel Aviv route.
New Delhi: The brave Flydubai Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who overpowered his colleague despite being stabbed mid-air fatally, has been admitted to a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia. He is receiving necessary medical attention and is in stable condition, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate in Jeddah asserted in a social media post on Thursday. The embassy said a full update on his health is still awaited.
"Our Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate in Jeddah have been following the health condition of Mr Smit Machchhar, the brave Indian pilot of the Flydubai flight that was diverted to Tabuk today. He is admitted to a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia and is receiving necessary medical attention,” the embassy said.
Our Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate in Jeddah have been following the health condition of Mr Smit Machchhar, the brave Indian pilot of Flydubai flight that was diverted to Tabuk today. He is admitted in a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia and receiving necessary…
— India in Saudi Arabia (@IndianEmbRiyadh) September 30, 2026
“A full update on his health is awaited, but he is reported to be in stable condition. We hope that he recovers from his injuries at the earliest. We are in touch with his family and assure them that we will continue to follow up on his health with Saudi authorities and extend all possible assistance for his well-being,” it added.
What happened with Flydubai flight FZ1073?
The Flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, had transmitted emergency signals and made a sharp descent before diverting to Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz Airport in Tabuk. The flight was carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children.
News website Ynet, citing Israeli officials, reported that the co-pilot was an Omani national and was suspected of trying to crash the aircraft. The Indian captain fought with him to prevent the aircraft from crashing, with Israeli passengers later helping subdue the co-pilot, the report said.
Who is the Indian pilot?
Machchhar, the Indian pilot who saved the lives of 174 people onboard the Flydubai flight and was described as the "true hero", has more than 13 years of commercial flying experience and has flown more than 9,500 hours. A native of Mumbai, he was with SpiceJet for over 11 years before taking up the role of captain at Flydubai in June 2022.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Machchhar was a former Line Training Captain at SpiceJet.
He joined Flydubai as a captain in June 2022 after serving with SpiceJet as a commander for little over 11 years, from June 2011, as per the profile.
Machchhar has flown more than 9,500 hours, including over 6,400 hours as Pilot In Command (PIC), according to his profile, in which he describes himself as an airline captain with over 13 years of commercial flying experience on the Boeing 737 fleet, including extensive time as a Line Training Captain. Machchar is a "good person", a senior pilot who had worked with him at SpiceJet told PTI.
Netanyahu salutes the brave Indian pilot
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Machchhar saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals. "My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery. "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," he said in a post on X. Wishing Machchhar a speedy and full recovery, Netanyahu said, "He is a true hero".
(With inputs from PTI)