Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS): Israel’s Consul General to Midwest India, Yaniv Revach, on Thursday hailed Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot of FlyDubai flight FZ1073, who was seriously injured while averting a major in-flight crisis on Wednesday. Revach described Machchhar as a “true superhero” who “showed extraordinary courage and fought” to protect his passengers.
In an interview with IANS, Revach said that Israel and India are proud of Captain Smit Machchhar and that both nations stand together against terrorism.
“What happened yesterday was shocking. Innocent people boarded the plane expecting to reach their families safely, and instead their lives were put in danger. My message to the Israelis is very, very simple: we will never allow terror and fear to control our lives. We will continue to travel and live and stand strong together,” he said.
The co-pilot of a FlyDubai flight, which was carrying over 170 passengers, on Wednesday, tried to sabotage the aircraft and stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar, who was trying to prevent him from doing so.
At the time, the Boeing 737, cruising at about 34,000 feet, began dropping at roughly 23,000 feet per minute before reaching about 15,600 feet. However, Machchhar fought back the co-pilot, resisted him, and opened the cockpit door so that passengers and crew members could overpower him.
Revach said that the Indian pilot and Israeli passengers fought together to save the lives of people, terming it the “true spirit” of India-Israel friendship.
“Captain Smit is a true superhero. He risked his own life. He showed extraordinary courage and fought to protect his passengers. He was not just saving passengers, he was saving entire families, fathers, mothers, children from a huge tragedy. Captain Smit stood up for Israel. This is what friendship is all about. India and Israel are very proud of him. From the bottom of my heart, we salute you, Captain Smit. This is the true spirit of India-Israel friendship. We stand together against terror.”
Revach said that he is disappointed that international media reported the incident as if it was a fight between the pilots and described it as a “false narrative.” He stated that Israel and India have been working together in the fight against terrorism and both nations face the same challenges when it comes to the radical Islamic groups.
“I am deeply disappointed by the way the international media is reporting this incident. It was not a fight between two pilots. This is a false narrative. The media has responsibility, but unfortunately they have double standards. Another clear message I want to emphasise on, first of all, I am deeply concerned about the role of Qatar of spreading the anti-Israel narrative and promote radical Islam agenda.
“Qatar and Oman, they have ties with Iran, and it raises serious concerns, and this has to be stopped. Now I want to emphasise that Israel and India are working closely together for decades already on the fight against terrorism. Both countries face the same challenges when it comes to the radical Islamic groups and of course, their activities. And, I hope that we will continue to work together in order to confront these terror activities,” he added.
Revach emphasised that the story of Captain Smit is the “true story” of friendship between India and Israel and mentioned that he spoke to the Indian pilot’s family.
“I’m sure that his family is so proud of the way that they raised him that he actually fought against terror and he actually risked his own life to protect other people, the Israelis, on board the plane. I spoke to his family, and I will be honoured to meet them. The fact that he came from Mumbai makes it even more personal. Mumbai has given Israel a hero, and we will never forget it. His parents and his family should be extremely proud of the man they raised.”
He said that Israel trusts the UAE government and their security and expects Saudi Arabia to carry out a full and transparent investigation into the FlyDubai flight incident.
“First of all, I want to say that we fully trust the Emirati government and their security procedures. We also expect that the Saudis will conduct a full, transparent investigation. The attacker, we should not forget, was an Omani co-pilot. This raises serious concerns about radicalisation and hatred against Israelis. Again, I emphasise that we must fight terrorism, but we also must fight hatred and incitement that can lead to terrorism on social media and on media platforms. We will not allow terror to stop us from living our lives on a daily basis.”
