Captain Machchhar was the captain of FlyDubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with around 174 passengers on board.
More than two hours into the flight, his Omani co-pilot allegedly snapped pulling a knife and stabbing Captain Machchhar inside the cockpit in what Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is now calling an attempted jihadist terror attack to crash the plane and kill all 174 on board.
Blood in the cockpit. Emergency codes 7700 and then 7500 hijack screaming across the radar. The aircraft plunged from 34,000 feet to 16,000 feet in seconds, dropping 14,300 feet in just 37 seconds.
Israel scrambled fighter jets fearing a 9/11-style attack on Tel Aviv.
But Captain Machchhar didn't give up. Despite being stabbed and injured, he fought back, regained control of the aircraft, and with help from passengers who stormed to subdue the co-pilot, he heroically made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Both pilots were hospitalized. All 174 passengers — including 27 children — survived.
Smit Machchhar joined FlyDubai in 2022 after a decade at SpiceJet, with over 9,750 hours on the Boeing 737.
He was supposed to be just flying a plane. He ended up saving 174 lives from a terrorist in his own cockpit.