“I was fighting for my life.” Those words from Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar capture the terrifying moments inside the cockpit of the Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, where he was seriously injured during an attack by his co-pilot.
But amid the blood, pain and chaos, Machchhar says he found strength in a deeply personal source, the Hanuman Chalisa.
Speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a video call on October 2, the injured pilot revealed that he was reciting the devotional hymn during the ordeal. He told Modi that whenever he experiences pain or difficulty, he recites the Hanuman Chalisa, and he was doing the same while fighting for his life inside the cockpit.
Machchhar said he believed that God gave him the courage to continue. “Lord Hanuman gave me courage,” he told Modi, describing how the prayer helped him maintain his composure during one of the most frightening experiences of his career.
The pilot was attacked while the aircraft was in flight and suffered serious injuries. Despite being wounded and falling down inside the cockpit, he realised that he could not remain incapacitated. If he failed to act, the lives of the passengers could be at risk.
“I realised that if I didn’t get up, then passengers would lose their lives,” Machchhar recalled. He pushed himself up and managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to intervene and restrain the attacker.
The aircraft was subsequently diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. Machchhar was taken for medical treatment and is now recovering.
His conversation with Modi became emotional as the pilot recounted the ordeal. He told the Prime Minister that he had suffered numerous injuries but had forced himself to act because he understood what was happening to the aircraft. With more than 17 years of flying experience, Machchhar said he knew that he had to make one final push to open the cockpit door.
