Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, who was wounded during an altercation on a flydubai flight that was diverted from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
Netanyahu described Machchhar as a “true hero” and said that, despite being stabbed and seriously injured, the captain fought back, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker, thereby preventing a catastrophic mid‑air disaster and saving the lives of 174 passengers, including Israeli citizens.
The incident involved a co‑pilot, an Omani national, who allegedly tried to crash the aircraft. After emergency signals were transmitted and the flight made a sharp descent, the aircraft diverted to Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Tabuk. Israeli passengers later helped subdue the co‑pilot, according to Israeli officials cited by Ynet.
Captain Machchhar, a Mumbai native with more than 13 years of commercial flying experience, logged over 9,500 flight hours, including more than 6,400 as pilot in command of Boeing 737s. He served with SpiceJet for over 11 years before becoming a flydubai captain in June 2022. A former line training captain, senior pilots have praised him as a “good person”.
