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==Early life and education== | ==Early life and education== | ||
[[File:Smit Machchhar (in flight).jpeg|thumb|220px|right]] | |||
Machchhar is of Gujarati origin and is from [[Mumbai]].<ref name="HT"/><ref name="Outlook">{{cite news |title=Flydubai FZ1073: Indian National Captain Smit Machchhar Identified As Pilot Stabbed In Cockpit Incident |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/international/flydubai-fz1073-indian-national-captain-smit-machchhar-identified-as-pilot-stabbed-in-cockpit-incident |work=[[Outlook India]] |date=30 September 2026}}</ref> | Machchhar is of Gujarati origin and is from [[Mumbai]].<ref name="HT"/><ref name="Outlook">{{cite news |title=Flydubai FZ1073: Indian National Captain Smit Machchhar Identified As Pilot Stabbed In Cockpit Incident |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/international/flydubai-fz1073-indian-national-captain-smit-machchhar-identified-as-pilot-stabbed-in-cockpit-incident |work=[[Outlook India]] |date=30 September 2026}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 01:01, 1 October 2026
Smit Machchhar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation | Airline pilot |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Employer | Flydubai |
Smit Machchhar is an Indian commercial airline pilot and captain with Flydubai. He previously worked for SpiceJet, where he served as a senior commander and line training captain. He joined flydubai in June 2022 as a direct-entry captain and has flown Boeing 737 aircraft.[1]
On September 30, 2026, Machchhar was the captain of Flydubai Flight 1073, which was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after an altercation between the two pilots during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Machchhar was injured during the incident and was taken to hospital after the aircraft landed.[2]
Early life and education
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Machchhar is of Gujarati origin and is from Mumbai.[1][3]
He studied business administration at the Welingkar Institute of Management from June 2007 to April 2008 and received a bachelor's degree in the subject.[1]
Flying career
Machchhar joined SpiceJet in June 2011. He worked for the airline for about 11 years, based in Mumbai, and became a senior commander. In November 2020, he became a line training captain, a position in which he trained and checked other pilots.[1][4]
His work at SpiceJet included pilot training and mentoring, pilot assessment, crew resource management, flight standards and compliance, and operations involving Boeing 737 aircraft.[1][4]
During his time at SpiceJet, Machchhar logged more than 9,500 hours of flying, including more than 6,400 hours as pilot in command.[1][5]
Machchhar joined Flydubai in June 2022 as a direct-entry captain. He has flown the airline's Boeing 737 fleet, including the 737-800 and Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9. By September 2026, his flying experience was listed at about 9,750 hours and more than 13 years of commercial aviation experience.[1][6]
Machchhar's professional work has included mentoring and assessing pilots, with a focus on safety, compliance and flight operations. He had also expressed an interest in moving into pilot training at flydubai.[5]
Flydubai Flight 1073 incident
On September 30, 2026, Machchhar was the pilot in command of Flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The aircraft was registered as A6-FKF.[5]
More than two hours into the flight, an altercation occurred between Machchhar and the other pilot in the flight deck. The aircraft subsequently transmitted emergency signals and entered a rapid descent. Flight-tracking data showed that it lost about 14,300 feet in 37 seconds, falling from an altitude of about 34,000 feet before the aircraft later diverted toward Saudi Arabia.[1][5]
The aircraft initially transmitted the international emergency transponder code 7700 and subsequently transmitted 7500, the code associated with unlawful interference.[5][7]
Machchhar was stabbed during the confrontation. The aircraft was diverted to Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. Both pilots were taken to hospital after the landing, and Machchhar underwent surgery for his injuries. He was later reported to be in stable condition.[1][8]
The other pilot was identified in Israeli and Indian reports as an Omani national. Israeli officials said that he attacked Machchhar and attempted to take control of the aircraft. According to accounts reported by Reuters and the Associated Press, passengers and a crew member entered the cockpit after the aircraft began its rapid descent and subdued the other pilot. Other pilots travelling on the flight subsequently helped operate the aircraft until it landed in Tabuk.[7][9]
The precise sequence of events during the cockpit confrontation was not immediately established. Flydubai described the event as an incident that occurred while the aircraft was en route and said that the underlying reasons and motives were subject to investigation.[5]
Israeli officials subsequently said that they were investigating the possibility that the other pilot had deliberately attempted to crash the aircraft. An Israeli official initially told Reuters that the incident was not believed to be a conventional hijacking. The motive for the confrontation remained unclear in the initial investigation.[7][10]
The aircraft carried more than 170 passengers and crew members. All passengers and crew were accounted for after the aircraft landed in Tabuk.[7][9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Stabbed flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar is Indian national, worked with SpiceJet earlier". Hindustan Times. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ "Flydubai pilot stabbed in cockpit is Indian, flew with SpiceJet for 11 years before joining Dubai airline". The Indian Express. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ "Flydubai FZ1073: Indian National Captain Smit Machchhar Identified As Pilot Stabbed In Cockpit Incident". Outlook India. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Flydubai flight drama: How Indian pilot Smit Machchhar stopped Omani co-pilot from crashing plane". The Times of India. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Smit Machchhar: Former SpiceJet pilot at the centre of flydubai mid-air emergency". Business Today. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ "Who is Smit Machchhar? Hero Indian flydubai captain was former SpiceJet pilot, has 9,750 flying hours on Boeing aircraft". The Week. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "A pilot brawl, then a rapid descent: passengers recount chaos on flydubai flight". Reuters. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ "Flydubai Pilot Smit Machchhar Undergoes Surgery After Cockpit Stabbing". i24NEWS. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "What to know about the terrifying FlyDubai flight forced to land in Saudi Arabia". Associated Press. 30 September 2026.
- ↑ "Flydubai flight scare: Was it a terror plot? What we know and don't know". The Times of India. 30 September 2026.