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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/10\/01\/world\/asia\/israel-flight-flydubai-pilot-captain-smit-machchhar.html?emc=edit_na_20261001&nl=breaking-news&segment_id=227359",
    "parsed_content": "Cockpit Attack on Flight to IsraelliveUpdatesOct. 1, 2026, 11:04 a.m. ET6m agoWhat to KnowPilot Hailed as HeroVideo: Passenger\u00a0AccountsFlyDubai and IsraelAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTWho Is the Indian Pilot Being Hailed as a Hero?Capt. Smit Machchhar suffered stab wounds while fending off an attack from his co-pilot, saving the lives of around 170 people on board, officials said.Listen \u00b7 5:37 min Share full articleA photograph provided by the Israeli government shows Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot, in an undated handout image released on Wednesday.Credit...Israel Foreign Ministry, via ReutersBy Somini SenguptaSuhasini Raj and Mujib MashalSomini Sengupta reported from the Mumbai suburb where the pilot grew up.Oct. 1, 2026Updated 10:39 a.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Capt. Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot hailed for averting a catastrophe on a FlyDubai flight, had faced a few challenges in the cockpit before. Monsoon rains. Fast-changing wind speeds. And the biggest challenge of all, he recalled on a podcast last year: preparing to land after a passenger went into labor on board.\u201cThere was a sense of urgency,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my head, I had zero margin of error.\u201dNone compared to the bloody midair horror he found himself in on Wednesday, when witnesses and officials say a fellow pilot stabbed him in the cockpit of a Dubai to Tel Aviv flight on Wednesday.Mr. Machchhar, bleeding, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the assailant, while two others on board who had flying experience landed the plane in Saudi Arabia.One passenger said he heard bloodcurdling screams before Mr. Machchhar fell out of the cockpit.Israeli officials said his co-pilot had apparently tried to crash the plane, with 170 passengers on board. Neither the authorities in the United Arab Emirates, where the flight originated, nor in Saudi Arabia, where the aircraft touched down, have commented on what happened. The Emirati Attorney General\u2019s office on Thursday announced an investigation.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTPrime Minister Narendra Modi of India hailed the captain as a \u201chero\u201d whose \u201cvalor helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy.\u201d\u201cIn 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,\u201d Mr. Modi said on X.Want to stay updated on what\u2019s happening in India, Israel and Saudi Arabia? Sign up for Your Places: Global Update, and we\u2019ll send our latest coverage to your inbox.Mr. Machchhar has been airlifted to Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital, according to two officials familiar with the matter. The Indian Embassy in the Emirates said on social media that the ambassador had visited Mr. Machchhar and his family at the hospital. \u201cCaptain Machchhar is in good health and recovering well,\u201d it said.As Indians rallied around him on Thursday, a portrait emerged of a pilot who found his calling somewhat accidentally, only to end up flying commercial planes for 13 years and later training aspiring pilots at an aviation school.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTHe grew up in a middle-class suburb of Mumbai, called Ghatkopar, not far from the city\u2019s international airport. Journalists crowded on Thursday near his childhood home in an ordinary neighborhood, its streets lined with auto rickshaws and vegetable carts. A news conference planned with the pilot\u2019s uncle was canceled and a local politician, Parag Shah, said his parents had flown to Dubai in the morning.ImageJournalists crowded near Mr. Machchhar\u2018s childhood home in Mumbai, on Thursday. Credit...Rafiq Maqbool\/Associated PressMr. Machchhar attended a neighborhood school, and was set to join the family textiles business. His destiny changed when he attended a seminar on aviation.\u201cThat is where the aviation bug bit me,\u201d he said on the podcast, saying that flying had not been a childhood dream.He said his mother was nervous. \u201cYou didn\u2019t hear a lot of people becoming pilots, no one had any idea how to do it,\u201d he said. \u201cSo first of all, that was something that scared my mom \u2014 and of course, the flying bit.\u201dHe enrolled in an 18-month program at a New Zealand-based aviation training school, called Mainland. Its director, Philip Kean, described the program as combining academic rigor and practical training.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\u201cYou\u2019ve got to study. You\u2019ve got to fly the plane,\u201d Mr. Kean said. \u201cHe was a good student \u2014 a good average student. He did his job. He got his commercial license, which he had come here for.\u201dHe began as a first officer, rose to the rank of captain, and according to Dhaval Patel, who knew him from school, soon became a trainer of other pilots at Spice Jet, a private Indian airline that has since folded.He became a mentor to Mr. Patel, who also worked as a pilot. He was passionate about training other pilots. \u201cHe would also ensure that the pilot is confident enough to execute the job well,\u201d said Mr. Patel, who now works in his family\u2019s diamonds business.\u201cEverything is behind you and you should look ahead,\u201d Mr. Patel recalled him saying many years ago, \u201cbecause when you are flying, you always look ahead.\u201dMr. Machchhar trains aspiring pilots as part of a private aviation school, called Fly By Aviation.\u201cYou should be ready to multitask,\u201d he says in a video directed at aspiring pilots on the school\u2019s Facebook page.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAlthough the captain does not appear to have much of a public presence on social media, glimpses of his personality and his outlook could be gleaned from interviews. Some of them are striking to read in the aftermath of the FlyDubai incident.In the hourlong podcast, posted last year, Mr. Machchhar said he avoided \u201cdeep discussions\u201d with his colleagues in the cockpit, so as not to be distracted, and said pilots should get plenty of rest so they can perform under challenging situations.\u201cYou have to perform. There\u2019s no alternative,\u201d he said.Asked to describe his feelings about being a pilot in one word, he replied, \u201cblessed.\u201dHari Kumar, Vivian Nereim and Pranav Baskar contributed reporting.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-10-01T04:16:26+00:00",
    "author_name": "Somini Sengupta, Suhasini Raj, Mujib Mashal",
    "site_name": "The New York Times",
    "section": "World",
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    "ai_headline": "Cockpit Attack on Flight to Israel: Pilot Hailed as Hero",
    "ai_simplified_title": "Indian Pilot Smit Machchhar Hailed Hero After Cockpit Attack on FlyDubai Flight",
    "ai_excerpt": "Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot, is hailed as a hero for fending off a co-pilot's attack on a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv, saving 170 lives. He sustained stab wounds but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing others to overpower the assailant and land the plane.",
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