Indian Pilot Speaks Out After Stabbing: “I Knew 170 Passengers Would Die if I Didn’t Show Courage”

(Photo: under Section 27A)

Captain Smith Matchar, the Indian pilot who survived this week’s attempted attack on a Flydubai flight, spoke publicly for the first time overnight Thursday into Friday. From his hospital room in the United Arab Emirates, where he was transferred from Saudi Arabia, the injured pilot spoke with Indian Prime Minister  Narendra Modi. He said he is feeling okay.

During the conversation, Matchar said: "I had so many injuries that I collapsed. I have been a captain for 11 years. I know what is happening on the plane even when my eyes are closed. When I fell, I felt the plane dropping because the nose went down, and I knew these were the final seconds. I tried to crawl. I opened the door, and everything else came immediately afterward. People in Saudi Arabia and here in the Emirates took care of me, and I could not have received better treatment or medical attention."

He later said, "I managed to crawl and open the door. I understood that if I did not show courage, 170 passengers would lose their lives."

Modi praised him, saying: "The entire country is praying for you. The courage, composure, and calm you showed saved many lives. The country can proudly say that Indians are not people who take lives, but people willing to risk their lives to save others."

It was reported in India yesterday that Matchar, who was stabbed by his Omani co-pilot, underwent emergency surgery at the hospital in the city of Tabuk, where the plane landed, while his family made its way from Mumbai to Dubai. The government of India’s Gujarat state announced that it would award the Indian captain a commendation. Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat’s chief minister, praised the pilot for his "unwavering courage," saying that his actions saved the passengers’ lives.