Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally congratulated Flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar on saving lives during the recent cockpit altercation. The Israeli leader praised the Indian pilot’s "courage" and "coolness of judgement" in a conversation that highlighted the intense physical struggle Machchhar described. "I, frankly, I'm amazed at your courage," Netanyahu told the pilot, marking a rare public commendation for a foreign aviator in such a high-profile security incident.
Machchhar detailed the chaotic moments inside the flight deck. He initially mistook the sudden blow to his head for catastrophic structural damage to the aircraft. "My first thought was that there was a catastrophic damage to the aircraft... And that's when I realised that it's not the aircraft, it's the other guy who was in the cockpit with me," he said. The attack impaired his vision and memory, leaving him in "bits and pieces" as the plane descended sharply and passengers screamed outside.
The turning point came when Machchhar, lying on the cockpit floor, decided to make one final attempt. "I had that one last fight left in me... if I don't do it, I'm going to die," he recalled. While crew members outside struggled with the access code, the attacker blocked the door. Machchhar explained that he reached the interior twist mechanism—a simple knob that requires no pin—to force the door open, allowing ground staff to intervene and secure the aircraft.
In a gesture of diplomatic goodwill, Netanyahu declared Machchhar a "hero of Israel" and a "hero of the entire world." He proposed that Machchhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi light the celebratory flame during the next Independence Day ceremony. This is the highest honor Israel bestows during the holiday, usually reserved strictly for Israeli citizens. Machchhar accepted the invitation, and Netanyahu wished him a quick recovery, calling the future visit "memorable and historic."