Israeli dentist saved Captain Smit Machchhar after flydubai cockpit attack

An Israeli dentist treated Captain Smit Machchhar for 45 minutes after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed him on a flydubai flight. The account highlights how passengers and crew helped avert a disaster and keep the pilot alive.Telaviv,Oct 6, 2026 22:42 ISTCaptain Smit Machchhar survived a mid-air attack on a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight after an Israeli dentist on board worked for 45 minutes to control severe bleeding from his head and hand, according to the dentist's account to ABC News. Machchhar was injured after co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, allegedly stabbed him in what was described as an attempt to crash the aircraft carrying more than 170 passengers.Machchhar, later hailed as a "hero" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is recovering at a hospital in the United Arab Emirates. On Tuesday, the Indian Embassy in the UAE said he "continues to make steady progress and is regaining his health".Dr Shuta Musaev, a Georgian dentist living in Israel, said he rushed forward after hearing screams, helped restrain the attacker and then began treating the badly injured pilot. "I think, how (can) I help this situation for all (the passengers for all plane. How I can help?" he said. "And I see one pilot on the floor, with...blood." Another passenger, Yaniv Hayun, pulled the suspect out of the cockpit, took control of the aircraft and levelled it before a third pilot took over the flight.Musaev said that once the attacker was overpowered, he turned his full attention to Machchhar, who was bleeding from wounds to his head, neck and hands. Speaking to The National from Holon, south of Tel Aviv, he said, "There was heavy bleeding from his head and left hand." He said he first used T-shirts to apply pressure, but the bleeding did not stop. "I asked the stewards for ice," he said. "He had very, very deep cuts and we needed many ice packets. But every time I opened the T-shirt to check the bleeding, it would bleed more. So I pressed not very hard and with ice. All through the 45 minutes, I kept the pressure on," Musaev said. He said he kept talking to the captain to keep him conscious. "I told him, 'Please don't sleep, we need you.' I asked how many children he had, their names. I kept telling him, 'Don't be afraid, you will go back to your family, we are landing soon,'" he added.According to Musaev, the pilot gave his name and age, said he lived in Dubai and was from India, and asked for help with the pain. "Everything will be good," Musaev said he told him. "He said to me, 'Help me, please. Help me, please. I don't want to die here.'" Musaev added, "He was cut badly and would say, 'I'm feeling hot on my hands.' I kept telling him that he would be OK." Musaev said Machchhar was lying on the cockpit floor and at one point realised the plane was descending, leading him to make "one last push" to open the cockpit door. As his condition worsened, Musaev said he lifted the captain's feet to help restore his pulse. "At one time, his pulse was too low, so I put his feet up and the pulse came back," he said. "When I saw his lips were blue, I told the steward, 'We need to land quickly. He doesn't have much more time'."Videos shared on social media show Machchhar asking for painkillers, but Musaev said he gave him only small sips of water and refused medicine because of the risk from the heavy bleeding. "He was lying on his back and I hesitated to lift him because I didn't want re-bleeding. It was dangerous to move him or give him medicines. The stewards wanted to give him medicine but I didn't agree." He said he kept checking whether the captain was talking, staying awake, his pulse and the colour of his lips.Musaev also said a small group of passengers was scanning the aircraft for more terrorists until the plane landed in Saudi Arabia. Once on the ground, he handed Machchhar over to doctors, telling him, "Good luck, my friend. Everything will be good." Musaev said he and his wife went through post-traumatic stress in the days that followed.Recalling the incident, Musaev said, "Smit saved our lives. Smit is a hero and I thank him for everything he did to save my family and all the passengers. It's karma, he saved our lives, and we saved his life." The account adds to the picture of how passengers and crew responded inside the aircraft before it landed and the injured captain was taken for treatment.With PTI Inputs- Ends