‘I knew the aircraft was going down’: flydubai captain tells how he opened cockpit door and saved the flight
From his hospital bed, Captain Smit Machchhar recounts the cockpit attack, the aircraft’s rapid descent and the final push that allowed him to open the door and seek help.
Speaking from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, with bandages on his head and hands and a medical tube in his nose, flydubai Flight FZ1073 captain Smit Machchhar has given his first detailed account of the moments when an ordinary flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv came close to disaster.
In a nearly 10-minute video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Machchhar described being attacked inside the cockpit, falling to the floor injured, then realizing from his long flying experience that the aircraft was rapidly descending and that he had to reach and open the cockpit door.
“I was fighting for my life”
Machchhar said he suffered multiple injuries and fell to the cockpit floor. At first he was fighting for his own life, but quickly realized that the lives of everyone aboard could depend on what he did next.
According to his account reported by Reuters, he knew the aircraft was going down and told himself that the door was right there and he only had to reach it and open it.
Seventeen years of flying experience
Machchhar told Modi he had been flying for 17 years and had served as a captain for 11 years. That experience, he said, allowed him to understand what was happening to the aircraft even while he was injured on the cockpit floor.
The jet lost nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds during the incident, according to flight-tracking data cited by Reuters.
One last push to open the door
Machchhar described urging himself to make one final effort. Although injured and still being attacked, he managed to reach the cockpit-door release and open the door.
Passengers and crew were then able to enter and overpower the attacker. Two other flydubai pilots who were aboard subsequently took control of the aircraft and landed it safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Video: Machchhar’s call with Modi
Modi released the conversation with Machchhar, praising the captain’s courage, presence of mind and determination to protect others.
An emotional conversation
Machchhar became emotional during the call. He said he believed God had saved him and told Modi that he recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu prayer, during the ordeal.
Modi praised his bravery and quick thinking, saying his actions had helped save lives. He also spoke about the support being given to Machchhar’s family.
Who is Smit Machchhar?
Machchhar is an Indian Boeing 737 captain from Mumbai. Aviation was not his childhood plan: he initially studied textile engineering with the expectation of joining his family’s textile business before discovering aviation at about 19.
He later trained as a pilot in New Zealand, spent more than a decade at SpiceJet, where he became a line training captain, and joined flydubai in 2022. Reuters reported that he has logged nearly 9,750 flying hours.
The investigation continues
The UAE has opened an official investigation into the circumstances and motives behind the cockpit attack, including whether it was connected to terrorist activity, prior planning or direction. The precise motive therefore remains subject to the official investigation.
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