The Indian ambassador to UAE Deepak Mittal on Thursday met the injured Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, a day after he got stabbed by his Omani co-pilot who was allegedly trying to crash the plane.“Amb Deepak Mittal visited Captain Smit Machchhar and his family at the hospital. Captain Machchhar is in good health and recovering well,” said the Indian Embassy in UAE on X.“The Embassy remains in close coordination with local authorities to ensure his continued medical care and well-being,” it added.Machchhar wasstabbed multiple times while fighting his co-pilot (Identity not revealed) after the latter was allegedly trying to gain control of plane to crash it. He was initially treated in Saudi Arabia but earlier on Thursday, airlifted to Abu Dhabi.Read more:Hurt flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar got emergency treatment shortly after landing; airlifted to Abu DhabiAs the probe continues to determine the exact motives of the co-pilot, an Israeli official told Associated Press that Israel expects the Emirati investigation to provide more significant findings once the Saudi probe into the incident is completed.
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The incident occurred aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv when it was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, following an alleged attack by the co-pilot on Indian captain Smit Machchhar.Machchhar was injured but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and intervene. Three Israeli passengers reportedly helped restrain the attacker, while two other pilots travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and safely landed it in Saudi Arabia.Read more: ‘Kill me, kill me’ – Netanyahu reveals words of ‘indoctrinated’ flydubai co-pilot