‘You’ll be lucky to have a doctor on board’: Smit Machchhar after flydubai cockpit attack

IBNS-CMEDIA: Captain Smit Machchhar, who was in the cockpit when his co-pilot allegedly attempted to crash a Dubai-Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight, was bleeding heavily when Israeli dentist Dr. Shota Musaev rushed to his aid.

Machchhar was attacked by the co-pilot inside the cockpit where the two were engaged in an altercation.

According to accounts from passengers, Machchhar, despite suffering serious injuries, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to enter and intervene.

Dr. Musaev was among the passengers who rushed towards the cockpit after hearing screams. He and other passengers helped overpower and restrain the suspected attacker before he turned his attention to the injured captain.

Musaev, who said he was the only doctor aboard the flight, told Ynet that Machchhar was in a very serious condition when he reached him, with heavy bleeding from his head and hands.

“I was the only doctor on the plane. I managed to stop the bleeding, and the pilot was fairly stable until shortly before landing, when his condition deteriorated somewhat,” Musaev said.

Musaev said Machchhar remained conscious and continued speaking to those around him while lying on the cockpit floor.

“The pilot was talking to us while he was lying there and told us he was 39 and had two children,” he said, adding that the attacker had stabbed and cursed the captain.

Machchhar’s old podcast resurfaces

Amid the incident, an old podcast featuring Machchhar has resurfaced on social media, in which he discussed the importance of having a doctor aboard a flight during a medical emergency.

“When we are up there and if something happens, no one is there to save us. We’ll be lucky enough to have a doctor on board,” Machchhar said in the podcast  Bona-Fide Banter hosted  by Zalak Mehta.

He went on to explain that cabin crew members are trained to respond to emergencies and provide first aid.

“They are trained to… I’m not saying they are trained to do surgeries and stuff, but then they can save your life,” he said.

The podcast was recorded in 2025, around a year before the flydubai incident.

Its resurfacing has drawn attention because an Israeli dentist was indeed aboard Flight FZ1073 and provided emergency treatment to Machchhar after the cockpit attack.

The flight, carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children, was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the confrontation occurred. The aircraft subsequently made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after passengers and off-duty pilots helped regain control of the aircraft.

The circumstances and motive behind the co-pilot’s alleged actions remain under investigation.

Captain reportedly unlocked cockpit door

Shota also said another passenger, Yaniv, was the first to rush into action.

According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, passenger Yaniv Hayoun later told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Machchhar, despite being badly wounded, managed to unlock the cockpit door before losing consciousness.

That action allowed other crew members and passengers to enter the cockpit and help overpower the attacker. The Jerusalem Post reported that Machchhar also managed to communicate that the other pilot had stabbed him.

The aircraft reportedly underwent a dramatic descent during the confrontation before the crew and passengers helped regain control.

The exact circumstances and motive behind the cockpit attack remain under investigation, and officials have cautioned against drawing premature conclusions.

Machchhar’s aviation career

Machchhar, an Indian national, is an experienced commercial pilot who previously flew for SpiceJet before joining Flydubai.

Reports citing his professional profile say he has more than 13 years of commercial flying experience and thousands of hours of experience flying Boeing 737 aircraft.

He is currently recovering in a hospital in Tabuk and has reportedly been described as being in stable condition.

For India, the dramatic episode has put Captain Smit Machchhar in the spotlight for his actions during the emergency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly praised him, saying, “India is proud of Captain Machchhar.”