Dentist keeps Indian captain alive for 45 minutes after mid‑flight stabbing

What Happened

Indian captain Smit Machchhar survived a stabbing on flydubai flight FZ1073 to Tel Aviv after a dentist on board kept his bleeding under control for 45 minutes. The 47‑year‑old dentist, Shota Musaev, said Machchhar was cut on the head and left hand and was losing blood fast. Musaev used several T‑shirts as pressure bandages and added ice packets when the cloths did not stop the flow. He lifted the pilot’s feet when the pulse fell low and noticed the lips turn blue, prompting him to ask the crew to land as quickly as possible. The co‑pilot, identified as Omani national Hammam al‑Hammami, had stabbed Machchhar with a crash axe inside the cockpit while trying to take control of the aircraft.

Reaction

Machchhar told the dentist he was from India and asked about his children while trying to stay conscious. After the aircraft landed, he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he felt the plane dropping even after he collapsed but would not abandon passengers. The UAE described the event as a terrorist attack.

Context

A crash axe is kept in cockpits for emergency use such as breaking windows. Passengers can intervene when a cockpit is breached, as happened when they opened the door and restrained the attacker.