India
Machchhar said passenger safety mattered more than delays
Livemint··1 Oct
A 2025 podcast interview with Captain Smit Machchhar resurfaced after he unlocked a flydubai cockpit door while injured. He had said delay is not my problem, as long as passengers walk out of the aircraft. Officials said the flight carried 174 people and diverted to Tabuk after the co-pilot stabbed him. He has logged nearly 9,750 hours on Boeing 737s.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Every one of the 174 people on board walked out after the diversion, the report said.
- Two other flydubai pilots travelling as passengers helped land the plane in Tabuk.
- Machchhar is recovering in a hospital after the attack.
What's Happening
- In the Zalak Mehta podcast, Machchhar brushed off delays from technical glitches or medical emergencies if safety held.
- He joined flydubai in 2022 after 11 years with SpiceJet.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him a hero.
How He Entered Aviation
- Machchhar said aviation was not a childhood dream and found him around age 19 at a seminar.
- He trained in New Zealand and is a 50-year-old Mumbai native, the interview said.
- He had enrolled in textile engineering before management studies at Welingkar Institute of Management.
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