Washington: US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and the Seattle chapter of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) have praised Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his courage in preventing what they described as an attempted hijacking of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Landau said Machchhar, along with passenger Yaniv Huyan and other mostly Israeli passengers aboard Flight FZ1073, showed extraordinary courage and prevented what could have become a major terrorist incident.
He said such “raw acts of courage” were inspiring and added that India and Israel should be proud of their citizens’ actions.
The AJC Seattle chapter separately wrote to India’s Consul General in Seattle, Prakash Gupta, praising Machchhar and echoing Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu in calling him a hero.
The organisation said Machchhar’s presence of mind despite being gravely injured helped save more than 170 passengers, including over 25 children. Citing Jewish tradition, it said saving one life is equivalent to saving the entire world.
AJC Seattle also wished Machchhar a full recovery, using the Hebrew expression “refuah shleimah”, and noted that such life-and-death experiences can leave invisible emotional and mental scars.
The group said the episode highlighted the strong friendship between Jewish and Indian communities in the Seattle area and called Machchhar a representative of the best of India.
