Indian Embassy: Injured Flydubai pilot Smith Macchhar recovering

The health of Indian pilot Smith Macchhar, who was stabbed aboard an Emirates Flydubai aircraft, is assessed as good. This was reported by the Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates after the Indian ambassador visited the hospital in the UAE, where the injured man was transferred from Saudi Arabia, according to infohub.kz.

"Captain Macchhar is feeling well and is recovering," the diplomatic mission said in a statement.

The incident occurred on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The commander of the crew was Smith Macchhar. During the flight, the co-pilot stabbed him, after which an emergency landing was decided at an airport in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, media reported that the Boeing 737 passenger plane had signaled an emergency during a turn over Saudi Arabia. It sent code 7500, indicating hijacking or unlawful interference. Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled toward the plane.

It then became known that the aircraft landed in Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, Flydubai told Israeli television that a fight had broken out between the pilots on the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight.

Soon the first photos and videos from the plane appeared. The image shows a passenger who is believed to have struggled with the attacker. And authorities are checking the version that one of the pilots may have intentionally tried to crash the plane. It is assumed that his actions were stopped by the co-pilot and Israeli passengers who fought him and prevented a catastrophe.

It was also reported in the media that pilots from Ukraine and Russia were flying as passengers and took over control of the Flydubai plane. Later it became known that the pilot injured in the attack by a colleague aboard the FlyDubai plane was Indian citizen Smith Macchhar.

Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Israel until the investigation of the incident is completed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a passenger on the Flydubai flight who helped neutralize the pilot who started the fight.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the incident aboard the Flydubai plane an attempted terrorist attack. And in Iran, they claim that Israel planned the Flydubai plane emergency to bring the US back into the conflict.