Indian pilot hailed hero after being stabbed in cockpit on Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv

Indian pilot Smit Machchhar has been praised as a hero after he was attacked and stabbed in the cockpit of a Flydubai aircraft travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, in an incident that has shaken the aviation world.

Machchhar managed to overcome the attack despite sustaining injuries, an act of courage that has drawn widespread admiration from within the industry. His friend and fellow pilot Dharav Gosalia paid tribute to his character and resolve. "Smit has taught us courage," Gosalia said, adding that Machchhar's training, discipline and experience had defined his response to the ordeal.

The attacker, the flight's Omani co-pilot, had been described as a radicalised Islamist. Colleagues say Machchhar's swift and determined reaction in the most confined and pressurised of environments — the flight deck — almost certainly prevented a far greater tragedy.