Who is Smit Machchhar? ‘Hero’ Indian pilot reportedly saved lives aboard flydubai flight

Indian Captain Smit Machchhar who was reportedly stabbed and severely wounded while fighting his copilot to prevent an alleged attempt to crash flydubai flight FZ1073 has been hailed as a hero in Israeli media after the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi ArabiaThe pilot was an Indian national Israelrsquos i24 News reported According to i24 News Machchhar is based in Dubai and has been identified in media reports as a former SpiceJet pilotIsraeli news website Ynet citing Israeli officials reported that the copilot was an Omani national and was suspected of trying to crash the aircraft The captain fought with him to prevent the aircraft from crashing with Israeli passengers later helping to subdue the copilotA ldquosevere disasterrdquo was averted an Israeli official said as the flydubai flight made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia amid the cockpit altercation Israelrsquos Channel 12 reportedIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said evidence indicated that one of the pilots stabbed his fellow pilot and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft with passengers on boardNetanyahu calls flydubai cockpit incident lsquoextremely serious security incidentrsquoldquoDuring the flight as they were approaching Israel one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane with its passengers on boardrdquo Netanyahu saidReferring to the Tel Avivbound flight Netanyahu said an Israeli passenger with whom he spoke along with one of the crew members managed to stop the pilot as he was attempting to damage the planersquos systemsIn a video statement as reported by The Times of Israel Netanyahu described the incident as ldquoan extremely serious security incidentrdquoHe said another crew member entered the cockpit and managed to stabilise the plane He also noted that Saudi Arabiarsquos authorities were interrogating the suspectNetanyahu said he ldquosalutes the heroesrdquo who saved the lives of the passengers according to The Times of IsraelHe also held a meeting with National Security Adviser Shmuel Ben Ezra and Military Secretary Maj Gen Guy MarkizenoKatz calls incident attempted terrorist attack as airline confirms cockpit altercationMeanwhile as per Fox News Israelrsquos Defence Minister Israel Katz termed the incident an ldquoattempted jihadist terrorist attack thwarted only through the bravery of several Israeli passengersrdquoldquoThe terrorist had one intention to crash the aircraft with everyone on boardrdquo he addedThe Flydubai flight FZ1073 had transmitted emergency signals and made a sharp descent before diverting to TabukBoth pilots were injured and hospitalised according to Tabuk airport authoritiesFlydubai confirmed that an ldquoaltercation occurred in the flight deckrdquo of flight FZ1073 and said the aircraft was ldquosuccessfully secured by onduty flydubai crew travelling on the flightrdquo The airline said it was cooperating with the relevant authorities and that all passengers were safeThe airline has not released the identity or nationality of the pilotsPassengers recount screams cockpit struggle aboard flydubai flightIsraeli authorities feared a possible hijacking and scrambled fighter jets after the aircraft transmitted emergency signals The incident remains under investigationPassenger accounts of the incident also emerged in Israeli mediaZvika Manes a passenger who said he helped subdue the alleged attacker told Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist that his wife heard shouting and screams near the cockpit before he and others intervenedldquoIrsquom covered in blood It was insanerdquo he said according to YnetAnother passenger Dalia Shpigel told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that there were ldquoterrible screams throughout the planerdquo before ldquothree to five guys burst into the cockpitrdquo and subdued the attackerA doctor travelling on the flight also reportedly provided first aid to those injured according to IANSFlydubai flight plunges sharply before safe Tabuk landingAccording to Ynet flydubai flight FZ1073 was carrying 174 passengers including 27 childrenFlighttracking data analysed by BBC Verify showed the aircraft cruising at about 34000 feet before plunging around 17000 feet climbing 5000 feet and then descending another 7000 feet to settle at about 15000 feet all within less than five minutesThe aircraft landed safely at Tabuk airport and all passengers were out of danger Netanyahu saidFlydubai said it had arranged two replacement aircraft at Tabuk to transport the passengers and crew onward to their destination according to IANSThe airline has said the underlying reasons and motives behind the cockpit altercation were not known at this stage and would be determined through a formal investigationWith PTI ANI and IANS inputs