‘Whole Country Is Praying for You’: PM Modi Speaks to Captain Smit Machchhar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who helped avert a major tragedy after being attacked by his co-pilot aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

 

During a video call, PM Modi praised Captain Machchhar’s courage, presence of mind and composure and said the entire country was praying for his recovery.

 

The Prime Minister began the interaction by asking the pilot about his health.

 

“How are you? How’s your health now?” PM Modi asked.

 

Captain Machchhar replied, “Everything is fine, sir. Everything is fine.”

 

PM Modi told the pilot that people across the country were praying for him and praised his quick thinking during the emergency.

 

“See, the whole country is praying for you. People are chanting Mahamrityunjaya Mantra for you everywhere. Your courage, your patience, and your wit…I mean, within a fraction of a second, you made a decision and saved so many lives,” the Prime Minister said.

 

PM Modi said Captain Machchhar’s actions reflected the spirit of Indians to protect and save lives.

 

“The entire country can proudly say that we Indians are not people who take lives, we are people who save lives,” he said.

 

The Prime Minister also recalled the injuries sustained by Captain Machchhar and said he had put the lives of the passengers before his own.

 

“You got such a big wound on your body, you were fighting a battle for life and death at that time. Even then, you didn’t care about your life, you cared about the lives of all the passengers,” PM Modi said.

 

He added that the pilot’s actions had made the country proud.

 

“Most importantly, you increased the respect of 140 crore countrymen, and that is why I feel proud,” the Prime Minister said.

 

PM Modi also recalled his conversation with Captain Machchhar’s family members on Thursday, saying he had spoken to his father Bhupendra, mother Geeta and wife Sonal.

 

During the interaction, Captain Machchhar recalled the moments when the cockpit attack took place and described how he managed to reach and open the cockpit door despite sustaining serious injuries.

 

“I was in that moment, sir, I was fighting for my life,” Captain Machchhar told the Prime Minister.

 

He said that after he fell to the floor due to his injuries, he realised that the aircraft was going down.

 

“I have been a captain for the last 11 years. And I get to know, even with my eyes closed, what is happening in the aircraft. When I had fallen down, then I was feeling that the aircraft is going down,” he said.

 

Captain Machchhar said he realised that there were only a few moments left and pushed himself to reach the cockpit door.

 

“And even then, I was trying to crawl. I opened the door, and rest all came,” he said.

 

He also expressed gratitude to the Saudi and UAE authorities for the medical treatment and assistance provided to him.

 

Captain Machchhar said he recites the Hanuman Chalisa whenever he is in difficulty and was doing so during the cockpit attack as well.

 

“Whenever I feel pain, I just chant Hanuman Chalisa. At that time, too, I was only chanting Hanuman Chalisa. And I know that God is with me,” he said.

 

The pilot became emotional during the interaction and described speaking to the Prime Minister as a special moment.

 

Captain Machchhar also told PM Modi that he considered him his biggest inspiration.

 

“You are my biggest idol. I feel proud of the way you are encouraging me today. I had so many injuries, but I told myself I have to get up and act,” he said.

 

He said he pushed himself to open the cockpit door despite his injuries.

 

Captain Machchhar is currently recovering at a hospital in Abu Dhabi. He said he was focusing on his recovery rather than the pain and expressed gratitude to the Saudi and UAE governments.

 

“I am not thinking of pain like pain because it will make my recovery even more difficult. I am thinking of it as a journey, which will happen slowly and slowly,” he said.

 

He added, “I am very, very confident that this recovery will happen and I will get completely well. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Saudi government and UAE government.”

 

Earlier on Thursday, PM Modi had spoken to Captain Machchhar’s family and praised the pilot’s courage and presence of mind during the mid-air attack.

 

Meanwhile, newly released footage from the Flydubai flight showed Captain Machchhar injured outside the cockpit after managing to open its door during the incident. In the footage, he is heard telling another passenger that the co-pilot had hit him several times and that he could move his injured hand but could no longer close it fully.

 

The footage was recorded after the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where medical personnel attended to the injured pilot.

 

Investigations into the incident are continuing. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot accused of attacking Captain Machchhar had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination.

 

-ANI