LONDON: A “brave” Indian pilot who was attacked by his colleague in the cockpit of a FlyDubai passenger jet on Wednesday is in a stable condition in hospital in Saudi Arabia.
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh confirmed that the injured captain is Smit Machchhar and that he is being treated in Tabuk.
The Boeing 737 MAX made an emergency landing at the Saudi city on Wednesday morning while on its way from the UAE to Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the pilot, who was wounded when his co-pilot attacked him in what Israel says was an attempt to crash the aircraft and kill all those on board.
“My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery,” Netanyahu wrote on X.
“Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back… preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster. He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals.”
Earlier, Netanyahu’s spokesperson told Reuters that Machchhar was covered with blood on the floor when he managed to click the release to open the cockpit door and allow passengers in to tackle the hijacker.
The Indian embassy said it had been following the health condition of Machchhar, “the brave Indian pilot” of the FlyDubai flight.
“A full update on his health is awaited but he is reported to be in stable condition,” the embassy said. “We hope that he recovers from his injuries at the earliest. We are in touch with his family and assure them that we will continue to follow up on his health with Saudi authorities and extend all possible assistance for his wellbeing.”
The Flydubai jet was more than two hours into the flight and close to the Jordanian border when it suddenly plummeted almost 5,000 meters and sent an emergency signal.
A reserve crew were traveling on board and were able to take over the controls and land the aircraft at Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz Airport in Tabuk.
Israel said the copilot planned to crash the plane, which had 160 Israeli passengers on board.
Machchhar joined FlyDubai in 2022 from Indian airline Spicejet, according to his LinkedIn account.
He has 9,750 flying hours in the Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8/9 and 13 years of commercial flying experience in the Boeing 737 fleet.
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