‘I was not going to let others die’: Flydubai pilot recounts opening cockpit door with ‘one last push’

The Indian captain who was stabbed by his copilot in an apparent effort to crash a Dubai-Tel Aviv flydubai flight on Wednesday replays the dramatic attack in a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Smit ​Machchhar, seen with a tube in his nose and bandages on his head and hands, speaks to Modi from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi.

“I knew that the aircraft was going down … I had fallen to the ground. I told myself that the door is right there, just open it. I managed to do it and people entered,” he says.

“I have been flying for the last 17 years, have been a captain for the last 11 years. I knew that the aircraft was going down.”

“Others came in and also played a role [in controlling the situation]. I was of course fighting for my own life but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die,” he adds, according to the BBC.

Modi praises Machchhar’s bravery and says his presence of mind saved lives and saved the reputation of Indian pilots.

“I know God saved me,” says an emotional Machchhar, who is from Modi’s home state of Gujarat. He tells the prime minister he recited a Hindu prayer to the monkey god Hanuman during the ordeal.

Machchhar was covered with blood and on the floor when he managed to open the cockpit door, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Reuters on Thursday.

That allowed passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot and let a second pair of flydubai pilots on board take control of the jet and land it in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Indian PM Narendra Modi video calls Captain Smit Machchhar, praised his courage, composure; Says the country is praying for him after he risked his life to save others. The Indian pilot helped saved lives of over 150 people in the Fly Dubai flight from UAE to Israel

Full Video: pic.twitter.com/bg3PvogzUP

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) October 2, 2026