Captain Machchhar: The pilot from Mumbai who proved to be the hero | India News
NEW DELHI: A Mumbaikar who completed his pilot training in Gurgaon, Captain Smit Machchhar, has emerged as the hero who helped save the lives of over 180 people on board flydubai’s Dubai-Tel Aviv flight. Attacked by his Omani national co-pilot, the captain, who hails from Ghatkopar and is learnt to be in mid 30s, he managed to both fight off the assailant and regain control of the aircraft despite being injured.Displaying a crucial presence of mind in most sudden and severe circumstances, he managed to save the plane from plunging — something the Boeing 737 MAX was very close to at that point of time. According to tracking site Flightradar24, the plane (A6-FKF) operating as FZ 1073 had dropped over 14,000 feet (about 4.3 km) from 30,875 feet to 16,750 feet in just 29 seconds. “Flightradar24 data recorded an extreme descent rate of approximately 30,000 feet per minute.For this flight which had 174 passengers of whom 166 were Israeli citizens, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address: “During the flight as they approached the country one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot. Apparently he tried to crash the plane with its occupants.”Captain Smit Machchhar managed to save the aircraft from a fatal plunge at this crucial time. Just as he stabilised the aircraft, crew members opened the cockpit door and managed to overpower the assailant co-pilot. FZ 1073 had two more pilots travelling as passengers who were to operate the aircraft back to Dubai from Tel Aviv. Once the situation in the flight deck was controlled, these two pilots took over the aircraft and safely diverted it to Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk with its rudder — used for directional control — getting detached during the sharp plunge.
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A flydubai spokesperson confirmed that “an altercation occurred” in the flight deck.Captain Machchhar, who worked in SpiceJet for about a decade till 2023, is learnt to be stable. Multiple friends and colleagues remember him as a “great guy” and are praying for his recovery. “He did his commercial pilot licence (CPL) training from New Zealand and then his type rating on the Boeing 737 at FSTC in Manesar (Gurgaon). He is a very decent and sober person ever willing to learn. There is not a single negative thing that I can recall about him,” said a senior pilot who trained him. Smit’s brother is also a pilot who flies for flydubai.