New Delhi: A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after an incident onboard. The pilot, identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar, was reportedly stabbed during the flight. Machchhar and his co-pilot were taken to hospital after the Boeing 737 MAX 8 landed, while his condition was not immediately known.
Who Is Smit Machchhar?
Machchhar has been serving as a captain with flydubai’s Boeing 737 fleet since June 2022. Before joining flydubai, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet in Mumbai, where he worked as a senior commander. From November 2020, he also served as a line training captain, training and checking other pilots
Career And Experience
Machchhar has served as a captain on flydubai’s Boeing 737 fleet since June 2022. Before joining the airline, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet in Mumbai, where he worked as a senior commander. From November 2020, he also served as a line training captain, responsible for training and checking other pilots.
His LinkedIn profile records around 9,750 flying hours on the Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 and 9. It also shows more than 6,400 hours as pilot-in-command during his SpiceJet career.
Early Background
Machchhar’s profile lists a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Welingkar Institute of Management, with dates from June 2007 to April 2008. His profile does not mention where he received his flight training.
The flight sent a distress call at 8:44 a.m. local time and landed about an hour later. Flight data showed a rapid altitude drop, followed by a transponder code indicating unlawful interference. Flydubai has described it only as “an incident while en route”, while authorities have not disclosed what happened onboard.
