Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan lauded Captain Smit Machchhar for his courage and presence of mind that ended up saving many lives during the horrific mid-air incident aboard a Flydubai flight.
Wishing the Captain a speedy recovery, SRK shared that the entire country was extremely proud of him as he managed to show courage during extreme circumstances.
Taking to his X (Formerly known as Twitter) timeline, Salman wrote, “Captain Smit Machchhar, you stood strong when it mattered the most!! It’s not easy to stare adversity in the face and put one’s safety on the line… but you did just that to protect those onboard and showed us what being a Captain entails. A true display of courage and duty. Wishing you a speedy recovery, the country is proud of you….”
Prior to this, Salman Khan also applauded Captain Smit Machchhar, saying that it would be a pleasure to fly with him.
Salman’s Tweet read, “Kamaal kar diya pilot ji, hum sab aap ko salute karte hain will be a pleasure to fly with u.. Well done bro.. Capt #SmitMachchhar.”
For the unversed, Captain Machchhar was seriously injured on Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was headed from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 people on board, after his co-pilot allegedly attacked him inside the cockpit.
Despite being seriously injured, he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to intervene. The aircraft was eventually diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
Many prominent names from the world of entertainment used social media to pay tribute to Captain Machchhar.
Actor Anil Kapoor revealed that he shares a personal connection to the pilot through his business manager Jalal. He shared that Jalal had known Captain Machchhar ever since his days in flying school and had always considered him as someone he would want by his side in a difficult situation.
His post read, “What Smit did in that moment was nothing short of extraordinary. It takes immense courage to stay strong and put others first.”
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