‘I was fighting for my life’: Indian pilot hailed as hero recalls flydubai cockpit attack as reflected on by Rabbi Miriam Levin
News of the flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv shocked our Highland Woods community. Many families here have loved ones traveling that route often. They bridge distances between suburban homes and our ancient homeland. Initially, our focus was on the harrowing facts: a violent breach, a desperate struggle, and terrifying proximity to death for 170 passengers. However, as more details emerged, our attention shifted. We began to focus on the extraordinary courage of Captain Smit Machchhar and his remarkable pilot heroics.
Captain Machchhar’s Courage and Faith
Captain Machchhar, recovering in a hospital, recounted his ordeal. He realized acutely, while fighting for his life, that everyone aboard would perish without his strength. He drew on his faith. He also felt an unyielding commitment to the people in his care. He summoned what he called a “last push” to regain control and open the cockpit door. This raw, decisive act of bravery pulled dozens of families back from the edge of mourning. Indeed, his actions saved many lives.
Jewish tradition teaches us a profound lesson. The Mishnah states: “Whoever saves a single life is considered as if they had saved an entire world.” This is not merely poetic language. It is a foundational axiom of covenantal responsibility. When Captain Machchhar forced himself up against physical violence and exhaustion, he defended more than an aircraft. He preserved entire universes of potential. Parents, children, teachers, scholars, and future generations all depended on one stranger’s resolve in a locked cabin.
Human Effort and Divine Endurance
The pilot’s reliance on personal faith during those critical seconds holds deep spiritual resonance. In extreme crisis, abstract theological concepts often fall away. Only bedrock convictions, anchoring a person’s soul, remain. Captain Machchhar’s faith did not make him passive. He did not wait for divine intervention from the sky. Instead, it manifested as an inner reservoir of duty. It animated his muscles and sharpened his will. Our tradition recognizes this synergy between human effort and divine endurance. We are called to be active partners in sustaining life, especially when chaos threatens the vulnerable.
The flight was heading to Tel Aviv, carrying passengers across regional borders. These regions are often defined by bitter conflict and painful geopolitical strife. Yet in that cockpit, none of the usual divisions mattered. An Indian pilot, flying for an Emirati airline, gave every ounce of his strength. He protected a manifest of predominantly Jewish and Israeli travelers. This stands as a stark, sacred reminder of our shared human vulnerability. Above the clouds, artificial boundaries dissolve, leaving only the moral obligation of neighbor to neighbor.
In our quiet sanctuary here in Highland Woods, we frequently discuss Tikkun Olam. This concept means “repair of a fractured world.” Too often, we imagine this repair as a gentle, gradual process. We envision comfortable meetings and polished resolutions. Captain Machchhar reminds us that repairing the world sometimes demands fierce, sacrificial defiance against destructive forces. His “last push” embodied moral courage. He refused to surrender innocent lives to darkness. We pray for his complete healing, a refuah shleimah of body and spirit. Let us also carry forward the lesson of his actions into our own communities. We may never grapple for airliner controls. However, each of us is routinely called to protect the fragile lives and dignity of those around us. May we find the faith and moral stamina, whenever our own testing moments arrive, to rise up and defend the worlds placed in our care.
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