An Indian airline captain is hailed as a hero after a cockpit attack on a FlyDubai flight

Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot at the controls during Wednesday’s flydubai cockpit attack, has been widely praised after he unlocked the cockpit door, enabling passengers to rush in and restrain the co-pilot as the Boeing 737 descended sharply. The flight, carrying 174 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, diverted to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Flydubai said on-duty crew secured the aircraft and landed safely, and Machchhar was taken to a hospital in stable condition; his family was briefed on his recovery. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him a hero on X, citing “patience, presence of mind and courage” and saying the actions averted a “9/11-like” tragedy. Machchhar, from Mumbai, trained in New Zealand and has more than 9,750 flying hours with SpiceJet and flydubai.