Smit Machchhar Interview | "I Was Chanting Hanuman Chalisa": Pilot Smit Tells PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to Captain Smit Machchhar and praised him for averting catastrophe after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed him and tried to crash the flydubai plane. Captain Smit Machchhar was seriously injured after the co-pilot, an Omani national, stabbed him during a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning. Hearing noises, passengers and crew rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the co-pilot as the Boeing 737 plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. A second pair of flydubai pilots aboard the flight -- which was carrying over 170 passengers and crew -- then landed the jet safely in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk. Speaking to Captain Machchhar over the video call, the prime minister said he didn't care about his life but cared for the lives of the travellers. "You had such a big wound on your body, you yourself were fighting for life and death. At that time, you did not care for your life, you cared for the lives of all the travellers," PM Modi told Captain Machchhar, who spoke from the hospital bed. "The biggest thing is that you increased the honour of 140 crore Indians. And that is why I am proud of you from the bottom of my heart," PM Modi said.