The first statements of the Indian pilot of the FlyDubai plane attacked in-flight by his co-pilot have emerged, considered a hero after managing to prevent a possible tragedy.
Captain Smit Machchhar said he continued to fight because he couldn’t „let everyone else die.”
"At that moment, I was fighting for my life," Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday in a video conference, as reported by CNN.
"I fell to the floor. I was so badly injured that I fell. At that moment, I was thinking: what if I don't get up anymore?" he said.
Machchhar recounted that he was on the floor in the cockpit when he realized the plane was losing altitude.
"And at that moment, I knew that it was enough to hit the door one more time to open it. But he kept hitting me. Then, I simply opened it, and that's when everyone came in," he said, referring to several passengers who entered the cockpit and immobilized the attacker.
"I was doing it for my life, but at the same time, I knew I couldn't let everyone else die," he emphasized.
Modi praised Machchhar's courage, telling the pilot that "his patience, courage, and ability to think quickly saved the lives of so many people."
"You were fighting between life and death yourself," Modi told him.
Machchhar is recovering in a hospital in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. He initially received care for his injuries in Saudi Arabia, where the plane, after changing its route, had to make an emergency landing.
The pilot had suffered a "massive loss of blood" and was "seriously injured," said dentist Shota Musaev, a passenger on board who assisted him with initial medical care, previously to CNN.
Through his courage, "he managed to prevent a tragedy like 9/11," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Wednesday to CNN.
Machchhar appeared emotional during the conversation with Modi, reminiscing about the moments he went through, and apologized to the prime minister for crying during the call.
The two later conversed in Gujarati, the language predominantly spoken by the inhabitants of the state of Gujarat in western India, where Modi also hails from.
Machchhar shared that his daughter came to see him in the hospital but got scared when she saw him in his condition. His youngest son, a two-year-old, has not been able to visit him yet.
Coming from a family involved in the textile industry, Machchhar stated in 2025 on the "Bona-Fide Banter" podcast that being a pilot was not "his childhood dream." After finishing school, he initially enrolled in a textile engineering course.
Speaking with Modi, Machchhar said he felt a sense of pride.
"Now, that you've called me, I am truly proud of myself. Before that, I wasn't proud, but now I am," Machchhar said.