Injured Pilot Tells Modi He Chanted The ‘Hanuman Chalisa’

NEW DELHI-Captain Smit Machchhar, the injured pilot who fought off a co-pilot during a fatal attack aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, on October 2 recounted his fightback inside the cockpit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video call.

Machchhar said he had pushed himself to keep fighting the attacker because he knew the lives of the 170 passengers on board depended on him. He also said he kept chanting the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ during the struggle.

“I knew that if I did not wake up, nobody would survive. I pushed myself to open the cockpit door. I kept chanting the Hanuman Chalisa, as I always do when confronted with difficult circumstances,” Machchhar told Modi, becoming emotional as he recalled the incident.

Modi comforted the teary-eyed pilot, patting him on the back and telling him that if he did not get emotional while speaking with him, where else could he.

The Prime Minister also praised Machchhar’s parents, Geeta Ben and Bhupendra Bhai, for raising him with high moral values.

Machchhar, who has 17 years of flying experience and has served as a captain for 11 years, said he understood his responsibility to ensure passengers’ safety under all circumstances.

He also shared a personal detail with Modi, saying he takes his two-year-old son in his lap every day and chants the Hanuman Chalisa to him.

“We are far from our motherland but can’t be far from our culture and civilization,” he said.

Machchhar also spoke about the medical care and supervision he was receiving.

Modi thanked the authorities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE for their assistance and told Machchhar that he was just a phone call away if the pilot needed to reach him.

Machchhar described the conversation with the Prime Minister as a proud moment, saying he had never thought he would get an opportunity to speak with him. (IANS)