NEW DELHI, Oct 1 — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday praised the captain of a Flydubai flight as a “hero” after he was stabbed and seriously wounded while trying to stop his co-pilot from allegedly crashing the plane, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
The Flydubai flight was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when violence erupted in the cockpit.
Indian captain Smit Machchhar suffered serious stab wounds but managed to resist his alleged attacker and open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Two other Flydubai pilots who happened to be on board then took control of the aircraft and made an emergency landing in the Saudi city of Tabuk.
