Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar ‘could not let people die’ as he describes fight to open cockpit door

Mr Machchhar has been hailed a hero after his actions allowed pᴀssengers to enter the cockpit and subdue the co-pilot as the jet plunged thousands of feet.

Speaking in an emotional video call from hospital in Abu Dhabi, he described how he fell to the floor after the stabbing and was “fighting for my life”.

“When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting, and I knew this is a last chance to do something. I knew the door was just there,” said Mr Machchhar.

Despite still getting hit by the attacker, he said he managed to open the door and “knew that I could not let people die”.

Mr Modi told the Flydubai captain: “The whole country can proudly say that we Indians are not people who take lives, we are people who save lives.”