Before the headlines, Smit Machchhar was a Mumbai kid on a fairly ordinary track. He grew up in Ghatkopar and studied in Mumbai, according to a family friend who spoke to Hindustan Times. Reports describe him as a Gujarati from Mumbai. After school, he enrolled in a textile engineering course tied to his family’s business. The expected future was a family firm, not a flight deck.
Somewhere along the way, he changed course. Accounts describe a Mumbai native who started down the path of the family textile business, then switched to aviation and became a highly experienced Boeing 737 captain. The switch wasn’t frictionless. On the Bonafide Banter podcast, he talked about his mother’s worries when he chose a career in aviation. It’s a very familiar story in Indian families: the safe, inherited business versus a risky dream. He chose the dream.
Thirteen years of Boeing 737s
His career is a long, steady climb. He spent 11 years with SpiceJet, where he worked as a line training captain. By his profile’s count, he has logged about 9,750 hours in total, including more than 6,400 as pilot in command. He flew Boeing 737 MAX 8/9 and 737-800 aircraft.
The training-captain role says something about his reputation. At SpiceJet he was a training captain and mentor for new pilots. His profile also lists crew resource management and flight standards among his specialties. That is the discipline of keeping a cockpit functioning under pressure, which is hard to ignore given what happened later.
In June 2022 he joined Flydubai as a direct-entry captain. That meant leaving the Indian carrier where he had spent over a decade and moving into international aviation. His LinkedIn profile also indicates that he is a father. Beyond that, little about his private life is public.
September 30, 2026
On Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, reports say the plane dropped nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds after an altercation in the cockpit. Israeli authorities allege the co-pilot attacked him in an apparent attempt to take control of the aircraft. Netanyahu said that despite being stabbed and seriously injured, Machchhar fought back, opened the cockpit door and let passengers and crew overpower the attacker. Passenger Yaniv Hayoun said he unlocked the door before he lost consciousness. A passenger who is a dentist treated his wounds, and the crew diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Machchhar underwent surgery and is reported to be in stable condition. Modi wrote that his valour helped save hundreds of lives.
What we don’t yet know
Most of this profile comes from his professional profile and Indian media reports, and the personal details are thin. Nothing is confirmed about his age, family or exactly how he managed to open that door. The investigation is ongoing, and the attacker’s identity and motive haven’t been officially established. The count of those saved also varies, with most outlets saying 174 and some saying 180.
For now, what’s established is that a man who once planned to work in textiles spent 13 years learning to keep aircraft and crews safe. When it mattered, he did that while badly hurt.