Captain Smit Machchhar recounts terrifying struggle with attacking co-pilot, saying he made one final attempt to reach the cockpit door and prevent disaster
Abu Dhabi, Oct 2026 : Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who fought with an attacking co-pilot aboard a Flydubai aircraft and helped prevent a major tragedy involving 174 people on board, is making steady progress in his recovery, the Indian Embassy in the UAE said on Tuesday.
In a health update posted on X, the Embassy said Machchhar was regaining his health and that officials remained in close contact with his family, doctors and local authorities.
“Health Update: Capt Smit continues to make steady progress and is regaining his health. The Embassy remains in close touch with his family, doctors and local authorities, extending all possible assistance. We thank everyone for their prayers and wish him a speedy recovery,” the Embassy said.
The update came after Machchhar recounted the terrifying moments inside the cockpit during an interaction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had invited Machchhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a celebratory flame at Israel’s next Independence Day ceremony.
Describing the incident, Machchhar said the flight had initially begun like any routine journey. He was looking ahead while his co-pilot told him that he wanted to pray.
Machchhar said he had no immediate reason to suspect that anything was wrong. He explained that praying was a common practice among local passengers and crew members and that, out of respect, he turned his attention towards the front of the cockpit while the co-pilot prayed.
“While he was praying, out of respect, I was looking at the front and not at the back, and suddenly, after about four to five minutes, there was a big blow to the back of my head,” Machchhar recalled.
The first blow left him believing that something catastrophic might have happened to the aircraft. However, as the attack continued, he realised that the danger was coming from the person sitting alongside him in the cockpit.
“My first thought was that there was catastrophic damage to the aircraft, that something is not right ... but after that the blows kept coming, one after the other and that's when I realised that it's not the aircraft, it's the other guy who is in the cockpit with me,” he said.
Machchhar attempted to fight back, but the initial blows had seriously affected his vision. He said he was struggling to see clearly and that everything appeared blurred.
“I did try and stop him, but because of his initial blows, my vision was almost like nothing, and I was completely blurred out,” he said.
The situation became even more critical when Machchhar realised that the aircraft was sharply descending.
“And at that point, the next feeling I had was that the aircraft was sharply going down,” he said, adding that his memory of the incident remained fragmented because of the severity of the ordeal.
During the struggle, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door once, but said he believed the co-pilot subsequently closed it again. He recalled finding himself on the cockpit floor as the aircraft continued to descend.
“I did try and manage to open the door once, but I think he shut it back closed. And at this point, I remember, I was lying down on the cockpit floor, and I felt the aircraft and the whooshing sound and people screaming,” he said.
It was at that point that Machchhar realised he had one final opportunity to prevent the aircraft from going down. Despite his injuries and the physical attack he had already endured, he summoned the remaining strength he had and made another attempt to reach the cockpit door.
“And as I was telling the Ambassador here, I had that one last fight left in me... Call it personal or call it for people, I did it because if I didn't do it, I was going to die, and that's when I pushed against everything... I gave everything that I had and went for the door and opened the door,” Machchhar said.
The Indian Embassy’s latest update indicates that Machchhar is continuing to recover from the ordeal. His account has also shed light on the critical moments inside the cockpit and the effort he made while seriously injured to regain control of the situation and protect those aboard the aircraft.
