Bleeding on the cockpit floor, he reached for the door: Indian captain tells Modi how he thwarted the Flydubai attack

New Delhi — The Indian pilot who was stabbed by his co-pilot in an alleged attempt to crash a Flydubai flight has spoken publicly for the first time, recounting in a video call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi how he saved the aircraft while bleeding on the cockpit floor. Captain Smit Machchhar, seen with a tube in his nose and bandages on his head and hands, spoke to Modi on Friday from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi during a nearly 10-minute clip released on the prime minister's social media channels, wiping away tears as he narrated his ordeal. "I knew that the aircraft was going down... I had fallen to the ground. I told myself that the door is right there, just open it. I managed to do it and people entered," he said. Machchhar was stabbed by his co-pilot in an alleged attempt to crash Flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday with more than 170 people on board. The jet plunged thousands of feet in a matter of seconds, according to reports citing flight data. "I have been flying for the last 17 years, have been a captain for the last 11 years. I knew that the aircraft was going down," he told the prime minister. "I was fighting for my life, but I was determined not to let others die. It was such a crucial moment." Even while still taking blows, he said, he forced the cockpit door open. Covered in blood and lying on the floor, as a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later described him, he let passengers and crew rush in. They overpowered the attacker, and a second pair of Flydubai pilots on board — described by a regional official as pilots in training — took control of the jet and diverted it to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, landing safely. Netanyahu said Machchhar "prevented a 9/11 disaster." The suspected attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and is being interrogated there. The motive was not immediately clear. Asked whether Iran was involved, Netanyahu said it was too early to say. Modi praised Machchhar's bravery, saying his presence of mind saved lives and saved the reputation of Indian pilots. Machchhar, who is from Modi's home state of Gujarat, told the prime minister he recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a hymn devoted to Lord Hanuman, during the ordeal. He was initially treated in Tabuk and later airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he remains hospitalised in stable condition. The heroism is beyond dispute. The questions it leaves behind are not: how did a co-pilot allegedly armed with a blade enter a locked cockpit, and what failed in the layers of aviation security meant to make such an attack impossible? The investigation in Saudi Arabia will have to answer what the industry would rather not ask.