From Textile Engineer to Cockpit Hero: Indian Pilot Earns Praise After Flydubai Incident

For Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who has been hailed as a hero after averting a potential crash involving a flydubai flight bound for Israel, aviation was never part of his childhood ambitions.

Machchhar had initially planned to join his family’s textile business. That changed when he discovered aviation at the age of 19, a career choice that initially worried his mother. Despite logging thousands of hours in the air, Machchhar has kept his passion for flying largely confined to the cockpit, preferring not to discuss his profession once he is on the ground.

“Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X. “In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also described him as a “true hero.”

Machchhar is recovering at a hospital in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk after his flight was diverted there on Wednesday. According to Israeli officials, the co-pilot reportedly stabbed Machchhar during the flight and attempted to crash the aircraft, which was carrying 174 people.

Israeli officials said Machchhar, covered in blood and lying on the cockpit floor, managed to activate the mechanism that opened the cockpit door. Passengers and crew then overpowered the co-pilot, while two flydubai pilots who were travelling as passengers assisted in landing the aircraft.

The veteran Boeing 737 captain has accumulated nearly 9,750 flight hours over a career spanning around 15 years. His entry into aviation, however, came relatively late.

“Unlike a lot of other aviators right now, aviation was not a childhood dream,” Machchhar said in a 2025 interview on YouTube channel hosted by Zalak Mehta. “It came along much later in my life.”

A Mumbai native, Machchhar studied textile engineering after school with the intention of entering his family’s business. He later pursued management studies at Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute of Management.

It was during an aviation seminar at the institute, when he was around 19, that he discovered his interest in flying.

“That’s where the aviation bug ... really found me,” he recalled, adding that his mother was initially apprehensive about his career decision.

Machchhar subsequently trained in New Zealand before joining Indian airline SpiceJet. Over more than a decade with the carrier, he rose through the ranks to become a line training captain, mentoring younger pilots. He spent 11 years at SpiceJet before joining flydubai in 2022.

During his career, Machchhar recalled diverting flights because of medical emergencies and delaying departures over seemingly minor technical concerns.

“Delay is not my problem. As long as you’re walking out of the aircraft is what I want,” he said.

‘Once Out of the Aircraft, Don’t Talk Aviation’

Machchhar has also spoken about maintaining a clear separation between his professional and personal life.

“When I get out of the cockpit or the aircraft, I don’t want the other guy to know that I’m a pilot,” he said. “I don’t want to discuss aviation.”

He described his approach as simple: when wearing the uniform, focus entirely on the job and the safety of those onboard. Once outside the cockpit, he said, it is time to leave aviation behind and focus on his family.

“When I wear the uniform, then no nonsense and just do your job, finish the job,” he said. “When you walk out of the cockpit, that’s it. Stop thinking about that. Someone else needs you now. The kids are there. They want to play with you.”