NZ-trained pilot hailed as hero after being stabbed on Israel-bound Flydubai flight

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Indian pilot Smit Machchhar for saving passengers after he was stabbed by his colleague in an alleged attempt to crash a Flydubai plane.

Machchhar trained in New Zealand for 18 months, according to his former instructor at Mainland Air Philip Kean who said he was pleased with how his former pupil managed the ordeal.

"I was really pleased to read how he handled the situation, the best way he could with a knife in your side," Kean told RNZ's Checkpoint.

Earlier, Kean had described Machchhar to the New Zealand Herald as "a bit of a live wire" and an "above average" pilot.

"It's just horrific. The main thing is that he's still alive.

"It's a long way to drop. It's lucky it didn't fall apart, those pilots did a great job at recovering the plane."

He said the pair had kept in touch over email over the years.

Passengers on the flight reached Israel safely on Wednesday after customers and crew foiled the co-pilot's attempt to crash the aircraft, Israeli officials said.

The struggle began when he stabbed the pilot and sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet (4267 metres) in less than 30 seconds.

Machchhar was covered with blood on the floor when he managed to click the release to open the cockpit door, a Netanyahu spokesperson told Reuters.

That allowed passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot and enable a second pair of Flydubai pilots who were on board to land the jet in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

"He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals," Netanyahu said in a post on X.

"All passengers are out of harm's way," Netanyahu had earlier said in a video statement released by his office.

Indian authorities in Saudi Arabia said Machchhar is receiving necessary medical attention in a hospital in the northwestern city of Tabuk and they are in touch with his family and Saudi authorities to extend all possible help.

He is reported to be stable, the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a post on X.

Machchhar, who hails from India's financial capital Mumbai, underwent surgery after the incident, Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times reported.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Machchhar worked with India's SpiceJet airline for over 11 years before joining Flydubai.

Israel's Ambassador to New Zealand Alon Roth said it's a miracle the plane managed to land safely, particularly how damage it appeared to be.

"The Israeli that dragged the attacker outside was able to get hold of the cockpit instrumentation and stopped this horrible dive of the aeroplane that was around 20,000 feet in one minute, so a crash was just a question of seconds. And then a crew -- an alternate crew that happened to be on board -- took the handles and, again, with unbelievable capabilities, landed the plane in Saudi Arabia," Roth said.

"The feeling in Israel is that we we had a miracle here, but we had a kind of unbelievable cooperation between a wounded Indian pilot, Israelis, a doctor, and then we had luck. We had luck, but unfortunately, sometimes luck doesn't help us."

Roth said the first thing that came to mind when he heard of the attempted hijacking was the September 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Centre in 2001.

"When I'm coming back from Israel, this is what we call a route of peace because it's between Israel and a country that is in peace with Israel through the Abraham Accords. So 9-11 was what I had in my mind."

He praised the courage of the pilot who managed to open the door to the cockpit so others on board could help, despite being seriously injured.

"Really I want to send from here our prayers for a full and quick recovery for this person"

The cause of the altercation between the pilots was not clear.

FlyDubai said in a statement that the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown and warned against "premature speculation." It also suspended flights to and from Israel amid an investigation.

Netanyahu described the event as "a highly severe security incident", and said Saudi authorities would interrogate the co-pilot of Flydubai FZ1073, which had been en route from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.