Smit Machchhar, the Indian captain allegedly stabbed by his co-pilot on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv , was moved from Saudi Arabia to a hospital in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had averted a “9/11-style tragedy” and leaders in India and Israel praised his courage.
Machchhar, 40, who was seriously wounded in Wednesday’s attack, is “in good health and recovering well”, India’s ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, said after visiting him and his family in hospital.
“Very reassured to meet Capt Smit. Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He was referring to the September 11, 2001, attacks, in which hijacked airliners were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people.
Thank the UAE government for their support and medical care being extended,” Mittal said in a post on X. Addressing a function in New Delhi to mark the centenary of the Union Public Service Commission, Modi said Machchhar had shown “remarkable patience, presence of mind, and courage”. “Indeed, as the Prime Minister of Israel stated today, an Indian prevented a 9/11-style tragedy,” Modi said. Israel’s envoy to the UAE, Yossi Shelley, told Reuters it was too early to draw conclusions. Another Israeli official said Israel was not receiving all the information it sought from the Saudis, and that its intelligence agencies, Mossad and Shin Bet, were also investigating.
Israeli officials said on Thursday that no motive had been established and that their initial assessment was that the co-pilot, an Omani national who has not been named, acted alone.
His heroic courage and incredible presence of mind have deeply touched us all. Politicians across parties posted messages of praise and wishes for his recovery.
President Droupadi Murmu said: “The nation is proud of Captain Smit Machchhar.
