Who is the 'hero' Indian pilot who was stabbed on Israel-bound flight?

The pilot who was stabbed on an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday has been identified as Indian national Capt Smit Machchhar.

Capt Machchhar was attacked by another pilot onboard a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, forcing the plane to divert to Saudi Arabia.

The captain, who has been hailed as a "true hero" by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was taken to a hospital in Tabuk, a city in north-western Saudi Arabia, where he remains in a stable condition according to the Indian embassy in Riyadh.

Writing on X, Netanyahu said Capt Machchhar "saved the lives of 174 people" and prevented "a catastrophic mid-air disaster".

Capt Machchhar grew up in the Indian city of Mumbai, where his parents still live.

In 2008, he joined Mainland Air, an aviation college in New Zealand's Dunedin, before joining Indian airline SpiceJet as a commercial pilot three years later. He moved to Dubai and joined Flydubai in 2022, having become an experienced pilot.

Speaking to the BBC, Philip Kean, the CEO of Mainland Air, said he remembers Capt Machchhar as a man who would remain calm in a crisis.

"We trained him for forced landing - not this kind of situation, which is very, very rare," Kean said. "It was a long time back but he came across as a good and honest worker."

Capt Machchhar has more than 9,750 hours of flying experience, including more than 6,400 hours as pilot-in-command, according to his LinkedIn profile.

His former employer SpiceJet issued a statement calling Machchhar a "hero" who had saved "countless lives".

Last year, Capt Machchhar spoke about how he started flying and his experiences as a pilot on a podcast called Bona-Fide Banter.

Aviation, he said, was "never a childhood dream". When he was around 19, he joined a management course, planning to work with his family's business. But then he came across an aviation seminar and "the bug bit [him]," he added.

Machchhar also spoke about how, when he wore his pilot's uniform, he was "no-nonsense" and thought "about work 100%". But unlike his younger days, he added, he now placed a greater value on having a healthy work-life balance and spending time with family.

"Give personal life equal importance - it will help you fly longer," he advised.

He also detailed challenges he had faced in the air, including when a passenger went into early labour and the crew worked together to ensure the baby was born safely.

"In aviation terms, I was lucky to grow up with people who helped me be the pilot that I am today," he said, crediting senior pilots with teaching him how to face stressful situations.

At the time of the conversation, Capt Machchhar said that no plane he'd flown had had to make an emergency landing. He had, however, faced medical emergencies and minor aircraft issues causing delays.

He said delays were "not my problem. As long as you're walking out of the aircraft [safely], that's what I want."

Indian social media has been awash with praise for Capt Machchhar since his identity emerged, with commenters calling him a hero. Snippets from the podcast have also gone viral.

Flydubai's flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates at 03:05 GMT (07:05 local time) en route to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

The flight was carrying at least 150 people, with Netanyahu saying "almost all" passengers were Israeli.

Data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 shows the plane made a rapid descent over Saudi Arabia around two and a half hours after take-off, dropping more than 17,000ft (5,000m) in less than two minutes at around 05:21.

Minutes later, the plane signalled an emergency code - squawk 7700 - before switching it to a squawk 7500 code, which indicates a hijacking.

At 05:40, the plane - which had briefly entered Jordanian airspace - looped back into Saudi Arabia, where it later started its manual descent for landing.

Less than an hour later, the plane returned to squawk 7700.

Initial local media reports cited Israeli officials as saying a fight had broken out between two pilots.

But speaking on Wednesday after the incident, Netanyahu confirmed later reports that one pilot had stabbed the other before "apparently trying to crash" the plane.

He said an Israeli passenger told him "the plane went into a spin and began to descend" before the passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit and overpowered the "pilot who had carried out the stabbing".

The plane was diverted to Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia and touched down at 06:58, according to location data.

The stabbed pilot, who is in a stable condition according to the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia, was later identified as Capt Machchhar.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Machchhar "showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others" despite being seriously injured.

"His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy," he wrote in a post on X, adding that he hoped for the pilot's speedy recovery.

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar praised the pilot's "extraordinary courage and remarkable presence of mind, even in the face of grave danger".

Speaking to reporters at the White House, US President Donald Trump said that "the pilot was in very bad shape" but had the sense to open the cockpit door during the attack.

"Amazing, in a way he was a hero, to open the door. He was able to fall back and get the door open."