NEW DELHI: Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot injured in a mid-air attack on a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight, is “recuperating well” and responding positively to treatment, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Machchhar remains hospitalised in Abu Dhabi, with the Indian embassy in the UAE maintaining regular contact with him, his family and local authorities.“Captain Smit Machchhar is in the hospital in Abu Dhabi. Our embassy in the UAE has been in regular touch with him, with his family, with local authorities, and with the hospital authorities. He’s recuperating well. He’s responding well. And his health is improving,” Jaiswal said.The update came after the Indian Embassy in the UAE said Machchhar was making “steady progress” and “regaining his health”. The pilot suffered severe injuries to his head, neck and hand after co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, attacked him during the flight and attempted to take control of the aircraft.Machchhar’s condition had become critical during the incident, with heavy bleeding from his injuries and his pulse dropping dangerously low. He was kept stable during the flight by Dr Shuta Musaev, a Georgian dentist living in Israel who was the only doctor on board.Musaev told ABC News that he used T-shirts as pressure dressings and ice packs to control the bleeding for around 45 minutes. At one point, Machchhar’s pulse became dangerously low and Musaev raised his feet until his pulse recovered.
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“When I saw his lips were blue, I told the steward, ‘We need to land quickly. He doesn’t have much more time’,” Musaev said.Machchhar was eventually handed over to medical teams after the aircraft landed in Saudi Arabia. He has since been receiving treatment in the UAE.The pilot has been hailed as a “hero” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his actions during the attack. Musaev also credited Machchhar with helping save the lives of those on board.