Sometimes, an old comment takes on a very different meaning when life catches up with it.Months before Captain Smit Machchhar was seriously injured in a cockpit attack on a Flydubai flight, the Indian pilot had spoken about what happens when something goes wrong in the air. He specifically talked about the importance of trained cabin crew and the possibility of needing a doctor during a mid-air emergency.Now, those words have resurfaced after Machchhar was stabbed by his co-pilot during Flydubai flight FZ1073 on September 30.The flight was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 people on board when the cockpit confrontation unfolded. Machchhar was seriously injured but managed to release the cockpit door, allowing passengers to reach the cockpit and help overpower the co-pilot. The aircraft eventually made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All 174 people on board survived.
‘Who is going to save you?’
In a podcast conversation last year, Machchhar spoke about the role of cabin crew during an emergency.“The crew – those people go through some rigorous training,” Machchhar said. “They have to get trained for safety procedures, emergency procedures, and first aid.”He then asked a question that now sounds particularly striking in light of what happened to him.“When we are up there and something happens, who is going to save you?” he said. “You’ll be lucky enough to have a doctor on board. If not, the crew is trained… they can save your life.”The clip from the Bona-Fide Banter podcast has now resurfaced online following the Flydubai incident.
An injured pilot and a doctor on board
During the September 30 flight, Machchhar was left seriously injured following the cockpit attack. According to reports, he managed to open the cockpit door despite his injuries, allowing passengers to intervene. A second team of Flydubai pilots who were travelling as passengers eventually took over and helped bring the aircraft to safety.Among those who rushed towards the cockpit was Israeli dentist Dr Shota Musayev.Musayev later said he heard screaming and ran towards the cockpit. He found Machchhar badly injured and bleeding.“I was the only doctor on the plane, and eventually I managed to stop the bleeding and stabilize his blood pressure,” Musayev told The Times of Israel.“These were very hard moments, but together with a few brave people on the plane, we managed to avert a situation that was very close to a disaster,” he said.
Machchhar’s words now sound different
At the time of the podcast, Machchhar was simply explaining why cabin crew training matters and why passengers shouldn’t underestimate their role during an emergency.But after what happened aboard FZ1073, his words have taken on an eerie relevance.He had spoken about the possibility of needing a doctor mid-flight. And when he himself was badly injured thousands of feet above the ground, there happened to be a doctor among the passengers who was able to help him.Machchhar is currently recovering after the incident. Reuters reported that he was in stable condition following surgery.The investigation into the cockpit attack and the co-pilot’s actions is ongoing, with authorities yet to establish the full motive behind the incident.
