Foreign Relations News

Flydubai Captain Describes Crawling to Cockpit Door in Hospital Call With Modi

Published

Sources
Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of an empty Boeing 737 cockpit at the Hiller Aviation Museum, based on a May 2015 photograph; archival aviation context, not the Flydubai aircraft, captain or hospital call.

Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from an Abu Dhabi hospital on Friday, in his first published hospital appearance after being injured on an Israel-bound flight. He said he had fallen after suffering severe injuries, then recognized that the aircraft’s nose was dropping. Drawing on eleven years as a captain, he realized time was running out, crawled and opened the cockpit door. Machchhar said he felt okay and praised the medical care he received in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Modi praised his courage and composure and wished him a recovery.

Sources

Secondary sources:12

Related stories

  1. Security Source Says Israel Has Not Been Invited to Flydubai Investigation
  2. UAE Source Says Pro-Palestinian Leaflets Found Among Flydubai Copilot’s Belongings
  3. El Al Cancels Friday Dubai Repatriation Flights
  4. Regev Says Final Approval Secured for Dubai Repatriation Flights
  5. Security Cabinet Reportedly Set to Meet Sunday for Multi-Front Briefing

Something went wrong

We couldn't complete that action. Check your connection and try again.