Kochi: Dubai Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, greeted Indian pilot Smit Machchhar who saved the lives of 172 passengers and crew members by foiling a terror plot to crash a Flydubai aircraft bound for Israel.
The prince “appreciated and praised” the pilot for foiling the possible terror attack by neutralising the co-pilot Hamam Alhammami, of Oman with the help of passengers and crew, media reports said.
“…We are proud that he is part of our team… part of the story of our nation… and part of what the UAE stands for… a nation of compassion… a nation of peace… and a nation of life,” he wrote on X.
Hamam Alhammami attacked Smit with a cockpit crash axe as part of his bid to crash the plane.
While being attacked, Smit managed to open the cockpit to let in off-duty pilots, crew and some passengers to neutralise the Omani who was aiming to repeat a September 11 by crashing the plane to the ground.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Donald Trump have praised Smit’s heroics.
Media reports said that Hammami was previously barred from flying in Oman over concerns about his radical ideology.
Photo: X
