Who is Capt. Smit Machchhar, Indian pilot who helped avert Flydubai disaster?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Who is Capt. Smit Machchhar, Indian pilot who helped avert Flydubai disaster?")
Who is Capt. Smit Machchhar, Indian pilot who helped avert Flydubai disaster? Photograph: (LinkedIn/Smit Machchhar)
Indian captain Smit Machchhar, a former SpiceJet commander with nearly 9,750 flying hours, helped bring a Flydubai flight safely to Saudi Arabia after a cockpit emergency.
Captain Smit Machchhar has been identified as the Indian pilot who fended off the Omani pilot who attempted to hijack the Flydubai flight on Wednesday (Sep 30). Chaos erupted in the cockpit of flight FZ 1073 when the Omani pilot tried to hijack the flight with the intention of crashing it. An altercation broke out between the two pilots, and Machchhar was stabbed. Passengers told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu after landing in Tel Aviv that the stabbed captain managed to open the cockpit door that allowed passengers to get in and interfere. The co-pilot was then restrained by the passengers. Two other pilots who were travelling on the flight as passengers took control of the flight and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. According to reports, Machchhar underwent surgery after being injured in the incident.
Who is Smit Machchhar?
Smit Machchhar, an Indian aviation professional and former SpiceJet commander, was serving as captain on Flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has more than 13 years of experience and over 9,750 flying hours across Boeing 737 aircraft, including the B737-800 and B737 MAX 8/9.
Machchhar has been working for Flydubai as a captain since June 2022. Before this, he worked for 11 years with SpiceJet, where he was a senior commander. He has also served as a Line Training Captain and is skilled in mentoring and assessing pilots.
The Indian pilot completed his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Welingkar Institute of Management.
What happened on Flydubai flight?
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According to the passengers’ account, an altercation broke out between the pilots, which turned violent. One of the pilots stabbed his co-pilot in the cockpit and attempted to crash the plane with the intention of killing everyone on board. During the altercation, the plane suddenly plunged several feet, from nearly 34,000 feet to less than 17,000 feet. Passengers intervened and restrained the pilot, who stabbed Machchhar. Two other pilots were among the passengers, who then took over the controls and carried out the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The Omani pilot was arrested and is being interrogated by the Saudi authorities.
The plane also sent distress signal 7700, a general international emergency signal. It also briefly sent the code 7500, which signals hijacking and unlawful interference, before it went back to the original distress code.
