Indian pilot Smit Machchhar has been identified as the captain of the flydubai flight that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a brawl inside the cockpit on Wednesday.
Machchhar was the pilot in command of flydubai flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The Boeing 737 aircraft diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia after emergency signals were sent during the flight.
Machchhar was stabbed by his co-pilot, who was an Omani national and was suspected of trying to crash the aircraft, The Indian Express reported.
Israeli officials said the co-pilot tried to crash the aircraft after stabbing the pilot, reported Reuters. Passengers and other crew members helped subdue him, while another set of pilots on board helped land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia. The precise cause of the confrontation remained unclear and flydubai urged people to avoid premature speculation.
All passengers and crew members were reported safe after the aircraft landed at Tabuk. Both pilots were taken to hospital, according to The Indian Express report.
Who is Smit Machchhar?
Machchhar is an experienced commercial pilot who has spent most of his career flying Boeing 737 aircraft.
According to his LinkedIn profile Machchhar has more than 13 years of commercial flying experience. His profile lists about 9,750 hours of flying experience on the Boeing 737 fleet.
He joined SpiceJet in June 2011, and spent about 11 years with the Indian airline before moving to flydubai.
At SpiceJet, Machchhar worked as a senior commander and later as a line training captain. A line training captain has responsibilities related to training and assessing pilots during normal airline operations.
Machchhar had flown the Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9. The report put his total flying experience at 9,750 hours. Machchhar worked as a senior commander and line training captain at SpiceJet in Mumbai before moving to flydubai.
His LinkedIn profile describes him as an airline captain with more than 13 years of commercial experience on the Boeing 737 fleet. It also lists experience in pilot mentoring, assessment, safety and operational standards.
Machchhar joined flydubai in June 2022 as a captain, according to his professional profile. He is based in Dubai as part of his work with the airline.
What happened on flight FZ1073?
Flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the Omani co-pilot stabbed the captain and then attempted to take control of the aircraft, reported Reuters. Passengers and crew members intervened and restrained the co-pilot.
The aircraft then diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. Reuters reported that flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft dropped almost 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before an emergency signal was sent.
Tabuk airport stated that the airport received a distress call from the aircraft at about 8:44 a.m. local time. The aircraft landed about an hour later. The exact sequence of events inside the cockpit has not been independently established in full.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked passengers and crew members their heroism. He described their actions as preventing a major disaster.
Netanyahu said, “They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.” The statement came after the aircraft landed safely in Tabuk.
Netanyahu said that almost all the passengers were Israeli citizens. He said that, as the aircraft approached Israel, “one of the pilots stabbed the second pilot” and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft.
Netanyahu said he spoke to an Israeli passenger who was on the flight. According to the prime minister, the passenger told him that the aircraft “went into a spin and began to dive.”
Netanyahu said the passenger and a crew member then managed to enter the cockpit. He said they “neutralized the stabbing pilot” while he was allegedly trying to interfere with the aircraft’s systems.
According to Netanyahu, additional flight crew members then entered the cockpit and helped stabilise the aircraft.
“I salute these heroes, who displayed exceptional resourcefulness and courage,” Netanyahu said. “They saved many lives. They prevented a huge disaster.”
Netanyahu said the aircraft eventually landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia and that all passengers were out of danger.
He also said the pilot who carried out the stabbing was arrested and was being questioned by Saudi authorities.
“We are maintaining constant communication with the relevant authorities to ensure the ongoing well-being of the passengers and their safe return home,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister added that he had instructed Israeli security services to prepare for “additional potential threats” and said authorities were carrying out continuing assessments of the situation.
A flydubai spokesperson said, “The aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport,” as reported by Reuters.
The airline also said the reasons and motives behind the incident were unknown and subject to a formal investigation. It urged people to avoid premature speculation while authorities gathered facts.