PM Modi Speaks to Flydubai Hero Captain Smit Machchhar: 'I Recited Hanuman Chalisa'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on a video call on Friday with Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was stabbed by his co-pilot aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 on the Dubai–Tel Aviv route, praising the captain's courage and presence of mind as he recovers from his injuries in the United Arab Emirates.
“How are you? How's your health now?”
The Prime Minister opened the call by asking the injured pilot, “How are you? How's your health now?” before telling him that the whole country had been praying for his recovery and that people across India were chanting the Mahamrityunjaya mantra for him. Modi praised Machchhar's composure during the mid-air attack, saying his actions had saved around 170 passengers and brought pride to the nation.
The Prime Minister said the captain had “increased the respect of 140 crore countrymen”, and saluted his parents — mother Geeta Ben and father Bhupendra Bhai — telling Machchhar that Geeta had raised him with the values of the Bhagavad Gita. Modi had spoken to the pilot's father Bhupendra, mother Geeta and wife Sonal the previous day.
“I only kept reciting the Hanuman Chalisa”
An emotional Machchhar told the Prime Minister that speaking to him was a very special moment, calling Modi his biggest idol. Recounting the fight in the cockpit, the pilot said that whenever he is in pain he recites the Hanuman Chalisa — and that through the attack he had kept doing just that. “Whenever I am in pain, I recite Hanuman Chalisa... I only kept reciting the Hanuman Chalisa,” he told the Prime Minister.
Machchhar said the single thought that kept him going was that he could not let the passengers die. “I knew that if I did not wake up, nobody would survive. I pushed myself to open the cockpit door,” he said — the act that allowed passengers and crew to rush in and overpower the attacker.
A veteran of 17 years, and a promise of help
The Prime Minister told the captain that his 17 years of flying experience — 11 of them as a captain — had shown in the way he handled the crisis. Machchhar thanked the medical teams who treated him in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where the aircraft made its emergency landing, and in the UAE, where he continues his treatment.
The pilot also shared a personal note: he holds his two-year-old son in his lap every day and chants the Hanuman Chalisa to him. Before ending the call, Modi assured the captain that he was “just a phone call away” and asked him to take care of his health.
An attack that shocked the aviation world
The attack aboard flight FZ1073 made headlines across the world, with newly released footage showing the bloodied pilot outside the cockpit and passengers shouting that the co-pilot had tried to crash the aircraft. Machchhar's fightback — opening the cockpit door despite being stabbed — is credited with saving the lives of all roughly 174 people on board. (See our earlier coverage of the footage and the investigation.)
Key facts
- PM Modi spoke to Captain Smit Machchhar on a video call on Friday, Oct 2, 2026; the flydubai pilot is recovering in the UAE after treatment in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- Modi opened by asking “How are you? How's your health now?” and praised the pilot's courage, presence of mind and composure, saying his actions saved ~170 passengers and brought pride to the nation.
- An emotional Machchhar called Modi his biggest idol and said he kept reciting the Hanuman Chalisa while fighting off the attacker: “I knew that if I did not wake up, nobody would survive.”
- The pilot has 17 years of flying experience, 11 as captain; he thanked medical staff in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- Modi saluted his parents Geeta Ben and Bhupendra Bhai — having spoken to them and his wife Sonal the previous day — and told the pilot he was “just a phone call away”.