{"id":31048,"date":"2026-10-01T09:38:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=31048"},"modified":"2026-10-01T09:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:38:29","slug":"indomitable-bravery-indian-flydubai-pilot-smit-machchhar-to-be-awarded-visisht-gujarat-garima-award-india-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=31048","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Indomitable bravery\u2019: Indian Flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar to be awarded \u2018Visisht Gujarat Garima Award\u2019 | India News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134614280,imgsize-64788,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/smit-machhar.jpg\" alt=\"'Indomitable bravery\u2019: Indian Flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar to be awarded \u2018Visisht Gujarat Garima Award\u2019\" title=\"Smit Machhar has been hailed by PM modi, Netanyahu and Trump\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Smit Machhar has been hailed by PM modi, Netanyahu and Trump\">Smit Machhar has been hailed by PM modi, Netanyahu and Trump<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government on Thursday announced that they will award Indian pilot Smit Machhar with the &#8216;Visisht Gujarat Garima Award&#8217; for fighting his copilot who allegedly planned to crash the plane.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>Captain Smit Machchhar was stabbed by his Omani co-pilot while fighting him in the cockpit, but fought back and was severely injured.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>&#8220;The courage of Captain Smit Machchhar, the pilot of the flight headed to Israel, is being saluted by the entire world today. Despite being drenched in blood due to the attack, he displayed indomitable bravery to save the lives of 174 passengers\u2014a feat that is profoundly inspiring and commendable,&#8221; said Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel on X.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>&#8220;This valiant son of Gujarat has illuminated the name of Gujarat and the nation across the globe through his heroism. The Gujarati spirit flowing in his veins fills us all with immense pride. To honor his extraordinary act of bravery and humanity, the Government of Gujarat will bestow upon Captain Smit Machhar the &#8216;Visisht Gujarat Garima Award&#8217;,&#8221; he added.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>Further praying for his swift recovery, the CM said, &#8220;The empathy and prayers of the nation&#8217;s citizens are with Captain Smit Machchhar.&#8221;<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/>Captain Smit Machchhar has been hailed for his courage after being stabbed by his Omani co-pilot during the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump among those praising his actions. PM Modi said Machchhar had shown \u201cremarkable patience, presence of mind, and courage\u201d and described him as a \u201cHERO\u201d, saying his valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a major tragedy.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>Netanyahu also saluted Machchhar for his \u201cextraordinary bravery\u201d, saying that despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, opened the cockpit door and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker. Trump similarly called the Indian pilot \u201ca hero\u201d, saying that even while badly wounded, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door and call for help.<\/p>\n<div data-type=\"in_view\" class=\"  \">\n<div class=\"LEzX4\">\n<div class=\"PmOGb\">\n<p class=\"PSf84\">Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Insightful<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Agree<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Disagree<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Skeptical<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Concerning<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Promising<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Worth Reading<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Big Development<\/button><\/p>\n<p><textarea class=\"T9MbS\" rows=\"1\" placeholder=\"Add your Thoughts...\"\/><button type=\"button\" class=\"ZW6JD \" disabled=\"\">Post Comment<\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"swnca\">Be respectful \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatimes.com\/termsandcondition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"gkv0P\">TOI community guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/prevented-another-9\/11-pm-modi-heaps-praise-on-flydubai-pilot-captain-machchhar\/articleshow\/134608685.cms\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PM Modi heaps praise on flydubai pilot Captain Machchhar<\/a><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>Captain Smit Machchhar, a Mumbaikar from Ghatkopar, is a commercial pilot who trained in New Zealand for his commercial pilot licence and later completed his Boeing 737 type rating at FSTC in Manesar, Gurgaon. <!-- -->He worked with SpiceJet for about a decade before joining flydubai in 2022.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>Machchhar, who is in his mid-30s, comes from a family with aviation ties, with his brother also working as a flydubai pilot. Friends and former colleagues describe him as a calm, decent and hardworking professional who was always willing to learn. He is currently recovering after being injured in the cockpit attack.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/flydubai-flight-drama-how-indian-pilot-smit-machchhar-stopped-omani-co-pilot-from-crashing-plane\/articleshow\/134597514.cms\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How Indian pilot Smit Machchhar stopped Omani co-pilot from crashing plane<\/a><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/indomitable-bravery-indian-flydubai-pilot-smit-machhar-to-be-awarded-visisht-gujarat-garima-award\/articleshow\/134613847.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Smit Machhar has been hailed by PM modi, Netanyahu and Trump NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government on Thursday announced that they will award Indian pilot Smit Machhar with the &#8216;Visisht Gujarat Garima Award&#8217; for fighting his copilot who allegedly planned to crash the plane.Captain Smit Machchhar was stabbed by his Omani co-pilot while fighting him [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Smit Machhar has been hailed by PM modi, Netanyahu and Trump NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government on Thursday announced that they will award Indian pilot Smit Machhar with the &#8216;Visisht Gujarat Garima Award&#8217; for fighting his copilot who allegedly planned to crash the plane.Captain Smit Machchhar was stabbed by his Omani co-pilot while fighting him [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":3,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/smit-machhar.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}