Indian flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar unlocked cockpit, named assailant, while wounded - report

Several passengers, including Israeli dentist Shota Musayev, administered first-aid care to Machchhar, keeping him alive until he was hospitalized in Saudi Arabia.

The flydubai pilot who was stabbed on flight FZ1073, Indian national Capt. Smit Machchhar, reportedly unlocked the cockpit door before losing consciousness, passenger Yaniv Hayoun told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the two spoke at Ben-Gurion Airport on Wednesday.  

Hayoun told Netanyahu that the cockpit door was unlocked, but Machchhar was close enough to the door that it was difficult to open. "My conclusion is that he resourcefully managed to open the door for us before he collapsed," he explained.

Netanyahu later expanded on this in a Twitter/X statement praising Machchhar's heroism.

"Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster," the prime minister wrote. "He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals."

Several passengers, including Israeli dentist Shota Musayev, administered first-aid care to Machchhar, keeping him alive until he was hospitalized in Saudi Arabia after the plane made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport. Musayev told Walla that Machchhar was badly wounded, bleeding heavily from his head and hands. The dentist was able to stop the bleeding and told Walla that his condition did stabilize after that, but deteriorated once again as the plane was landing. 

Musayev also said that Machchhar was able to verbally communicate that the other pilot stabbed him. 

Machchhar is an experienced pilot, specializing in training new recruits

According to several Indian news outlets, Machchhar is a Gujarati Indian from Mumbai. According to his LinkedIn profile, he spent over a decade flying for Indian airline SpiceJet, where he also served as a training captain and mentor for new pilots, before moving to flydubai. His profile also notes that he accumulated about 9,750 flying hours on the 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8 and 9.

The LinkedIn profile also indicates that Machchhar is a father.

The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said Machchhar was "admitted in a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia and [is] receiving necessary medical attention."

The embassy said that while they have not received a full update on the pilot's health, he is reported to be in stable condition. Officials are also in touch with Machchhar's family, the embassy added.