Dubai | Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who was seriously injured while foiling an alleged attempt by his co-pilot to crash a Flydubai flight, is in stable condition and receiving treatment at a hospital in Saudi Arabia, officials said on Thursday.
Machchhar was stabbed and seriously injured by his co-pilot in the cockpit of Flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, on Wednesday. The plane was carrying 174 people.
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh, in a social media post, said that the pilot is "admitted in a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia and receiving necessary medical attention".
The mission said that while a full update on his health was awaited, he was "reported to be in stable condition".
The embassy and the Consulate General of India in Jeddah are closely monitoring Machchhar's health and are in touch with his family, it said.
"We hope that he recovers from his injuries at the earliest. We are in touch with his family and assure them that we will continue to follow up on his health with Saudi authorities and extend all possible assistance for his well-being," the mission said.
Passengers on the flight reached Israel safely on Wednesday after the copilot's attempt to crash the aircraft was foiled.
The co-pilot, who was identified by Israeli officials as an Omani national, stabbed Machchhar and sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
Machchhar was covered with blood on the floor when he managed to draw on "the last moments of his energy" to click open the release on the cockpit door, The Times of Israel reported, quoting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson Doron Spielman.
That allowed passengers and crew to overpower the copilot and enable a second pair of flydubai pilots who were on board to land the jet in Tabuk, the report said.
Netanyahu, in a statement, has hailed Machchhar as a "true hero".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Machchhar for his actions during the incident.
Modi described him as a "hero" and said his courage and resolve helped avert a major tragedy.
Saudi authorities are investigating the incident
