Indian Pilot Had Another Career In Mind, Then He Emerged A Cockpit Hero

"You saved the plane, you did well." That is what passengers told a bloodied pilot on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, as he struggled to speak, according to visuals from the aircraft. According to sources, he is Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot who fought off a co-pilot who allegedly tried to sabotage the plane's systems. They say his actions may have saved as many as 180 passengers on the Dubai to Tel Aviv flight. He was stabbed during the clash.The Pilot Who Never Planned To FlyCaptain Machchhar spoke about his path on the podcast Bonafide Banter with Zalak Mata. "First of all, unlike a lot of other aviators right now, aviation was not like a childhood dream," he said.After school, he joined a textile engineering course linked to his family's business.