‘Hit Me So Many Times’: New flydubai Footage Shows Injured Captain Smit Machchhar

“Hit me so many times.”

Those words from an injured Captain Smit Machchhar feature in newly released footage showing the chaotic aftermath of the cockpit attack aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

The video, aired by Israel’s Channel 12, shows the Indian captain lying outside the cockpit as passengers seek medical assistance. Despite his injuries, Machchhar had managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene against the co-pilot, who allegedly attacked him and attempted to crash the aircraft.

The flight subsequently made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Shouts, Then Calls for a Doctor

According to the ANI report describing the footage, the recording begins near the cockpit, with passengers shouting “he tried to crash the plane” and “take him out”. Others urge people in the cabin to sit down.

Calls for a doctor follow. An Israeli dentist, identified as Dr Shota Musayev, moves towards the front to provide assistance. Someone asks whether another pilot is on board and receives an affirmative response.

The footage then shows a bloodied Machchhar describing the assault and an injury to his hand. He says he can move the hand but cannot squeeze it shut.

A later section, recorded after the emergency landing, shows medical personnel attending to him as police arrive. Passengers describe the alleged attacker as a terrorist, an accusation heard in the footage rather than an investigative finding.

Netanyahu Alleges Radicalisation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot was being interrogated and that Israeli investigators had joined the questioning.

Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu alleged that the attacker had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”. He also said the preliminary investigation indicated an intention to crash the aircraft.

Those assertions remain attributed to Netanyahu; the report did not provide independent evidence establishing the alleged attacker’s motive.

In a separate interview with CBS News, Netanyahu praised Machchhar for opening the cockpit while seriously injured and “fighting for his life”. He described the intervention as a “tremendous act of heroism”.

‘He Was Talking, He Was Chatting’

Machchhar is now stable and recovering well in a UAE hospital, India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, said on Thursday after meeting the pilot and his family.

“I was very relieved to see, and very reassured, that he's doing well, he's quite stable. He was talking, he was chatting, a bit of discomfort, but I think he's under good medical care here in UAE,” Mittal told Prasar Bharati.

The ambassador said Machchhar’s morale was high and that he had been smiling and laughing during the visit. The Indian Embassy remained in contact with officials overseeing his care.

Calling him a “brave son of India”, Mittal praised the captain’s response to the emergency and his role in protecting those on board.

With inputs from ANI