For Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, hailed as a hero for averting a crash of a flydubai jet bound for Israel, aviation was never part of his childhood dreams. But the foundational skills that helped him save 174 lives this week were forged right here in New Zealand.
Machchhar had his sights set on the family’s textile business. That was until the aviation bug bit at the age of 19 after attending a seminar, a sudden career shift that initially scared his mother. Choosing to follow his new passion, he packed his bags for New Zealand to earn his commercial pilot’s license. Machchhar spent approximately 18 months training with Mainland Air in Dunedin, laying the groundwork for a career that would ultimately see him recognised a hero.
“Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X. “In 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.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the sentiment, calling the New Zealand-trained aviator a “true hero”.
Machchhar is currently recovering in a hospital in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk, where his flight was diverted on Wednesday after the co-pilot reportedly stabbed him mid-air in an attempt to crash the plane carrying 174 people, according to Israeli officials. Flight data recorded the aircraft plunging thousands of feet in mere seconds during the struggle.
The Mumbai native was covered in blood on the cockpit floor when he managed to activate the release to open the cockpit door. This critical, split-second decision allowed passengers and crew to enter the flight deck and overpower the co-pilot, enabling two off-duty flydubai pilots who were travelling as passengers to take control and safely land the aircraft.
While the full sequence of events remains under investigation, for the 174 passengers and crew who walked away from the emergency, Machchhar’s extraordinary resilience—honed years ago in the skies above Otago—was the deciding factor between a crisis and a tragedy.
