Indian pilot stabbed mid-flight, saves 174 passengers by opening cockpit door

Captain Smit Machchhar was stabbed mid-flight on Wednesday morning, but in the moments after the blade found him, he made a choice that would determine whether 174 people lived or died. He opened the cockpit door.

The Flydubai flight FZ1073 had lifted off from Dubai International Airport at 3:05 in the morning, bound for Tel Aviv with nearly all its passengers Israeli nationals. Machchhar, an Indian pilot with more than 9,750 hours of flying experience, was in command. Roughly two and a half hours into the flight, another pilot attacked him with a knife, then apparently attempted to crash the aircraft. The plane entered a spin and began descending rapidly—dropping more than 17,000 feet in less than two minutes over Saudi Arabian airspace. But Machchhar, despite his wounds, managed to open the cockpit door. An Israeli passenger and a crew member rushed in, overpowered the attacking pilot, and regained control of the aircraft. At 6:58 in the morning, the plane touched down safely at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. All 174 people aboard walked away.

Machchhar, now 34, grew up in Mumbai. He was not born to aviation—he joined a management course at 19 planning to work in his family's business—but an aviation seminar changed his trajectory. He studied at Mainland Air, an aviation college in Dunedin, New Zealand, starting in 2008, then joined SpiceJet as a commercial pilot in 2011. In 2022, he moved to Dubai and signed on with Flydubai as an experienced captain. His former colleagues describe a disciplined, jovial man. Philip Kean, CEO of Mainland Air, remembered him as someone who remained calm under pressure. Captain Dharav Gosalia, who worked with him at SpiceJet, called him outgoing and very jovial—a man trained rigorously, including by former Indian Air Force pilots who had moved into commercial aviation. Machchhar's nickname was "Smit Mac."

Last year, Machchhar appeared on a podcast called Bona-Fide Banter and spoke candidly about his career. He described how the aviation bug bit him in his late teens, how he wore his pilot's uniform with a no-nonsense attitude and thought about work 100 percent, but how he had come to value work-life balance and time with family. He had faced medical emergencies in the air—once a passenger went into early labor and the crew worked together to deliver the baby safely. He had never needed to make an emergency landing before Wednesday. Delays, he said, were not his problem. "As long as you're walking out of the aircraft safely, that's what I want."

The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia reported that Machchhar was in stable condition and recovering well. Ambassador Deepak Mittal said he was proud of the captain's bravery. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him a "true hero" who had saved the lives of 174 people and prevented a catastrophic mid-air disaster. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised his "immense courage and unwavering resolve" despite serious injury. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar highlighted his "extraordinary courage and remarkable presence of mind, even in the face of grave danger." US President Donald Trump told reporters that the pilot was in very bad shape but had the sense to open the door—"Amazing, in a way he was a hero, to open the door."

SpiceJet, his former employer, issued a statement calling Machchhar a hero who had saved countless lives. On Indian social media, praise flooded in. Clips from his podcast interview went viral. The incident, rare in aviation history, revealed something about the power of training, composure, and the split-second decisions that separate catastrophe from survival. Machchhar had spent years learning to manage stressful situations from senior pilots. On Wednesday morning, at 35,000 feet, with a knife wound and a spinning aircraft, he used everything they had taught him.