From textile engineering to cockpit hero: Indian pilot wins praise after flydubai drama

The Mumbai-born captain, who has logged nearly 9,750 flying hours, was seriously injured after his co-pilot reportedly attacked him mid-air and attempted to crash the flydubai jet carrying 174 people.

For Indian ​ pilot Smit Machchhar, hailed as a hero for averting a crash of a flydubai jet bound for Israel, aviation was never ‌ part of his childhood dreams.