He wanted to study business. A seminar took Smit Machchhar to the flydubai cockpit

Captain Smit Machchhar's career began far from the cockpit. He studied textile engineering with plans to join his family business before pursuing management at Mumbai's Welingkar Institute, where an aviation seminar at 19 changed the course of his life and, 13 years later, took him into the cockpit of Flydubai Flight FZ1073 where he saved 174 lives.

In Short

• An aviation seminar at 19 redirected him from management to flying
• His mother worried, but his father urged him to pursue training
• Flight training in New Zealand cost about Rs 16-17 lakh then

For Captain Smit Machchhar, aviation was never a childhood dream.

The Indian pilot, who has nearly 9,750 flying hours and has spent more than a decade flying commercially, initially planned to build a career connected to his family's textile business. It was only after he moved from textile engineering to management studies that he discovered aviation.

That unexpected educational detour eventually took him from Mumbai to New Zealand for pilot training, then to SpiceJet and, later, flydubai.

FROM TEXTILE ENGINEERING TO MANAGEMENT

After school, Machchhar enrolled in a textile engineering course, with the intention of continuing his family's business, according to his 2025 interview with YouTuber Zalak Mehta. He later pursued management studies at the Welingkar Institute of Management in Mumbai.

His LinkedIn profile lists a bachelor's degree in business administration from Welingkar Institute of Management, which he did from June 2007 to April 2008.

This is where his career took an unexpected turn.

During his management studies, Machchhar attended an aviation seminar. He was around 19 at the time, and the experience introduced him to flying.

“Aviation was not a childhood dream,” Machchhar said in the 2025 interview. He described discovering it much later in life. It was at a seminar during his management studies that he became interested in flying.

His mother was initially worried about the career choice, he recalled.

NEW ZEALAND BECAME THE NEXT CLASSROOM

After deciding to pursue aviation, Machchhar went to New Zealand for flight training. He trained there before joining SpiceJet.

The move marked a complete change from his original educational path. Instead of continuing towards the family textile business, Machchhar was now preparing for a career in commercial aviation.

His pilot training was followed by Boeing 737 flying, which would become the main aircraft family of his commercial career. His first commercial flight was from Bangalore to Delhi, as he remembered in the podcast.

FROM FIRST OFFICER TO TRAINING CAPTAIN

Machchhar joined SpiceJet in June 2011 and spent more than 11 years with the airline, according to his LinkedIn profile. He progressed to become a senior commander and later a line training captain.

As per his LinkedIn profile, he started his role in November 2020 as a line training captain at SpiceJet. In that position, he trained and checked other pilots.

His profile records around 9,750 hours of flying experience on Boeing 737 aircraft, including the 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 and 9. It also lists more than 6,400 hours as pilot-in-command during his SpiceJet career.

In June 2022, he moved to flydubai as a direct-entry captain, after more than 11 years at SpiceJet.

EDUCATION THAT SAVED 174 LIVES

On 30 September 2026, that training was tested. Commanding flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying 174 passengers including 27 children, Machchhar was allegedly stabbed by his co-pilot, an Omani national, who attempted to crash the aircraft.

Flight data showed a drop of nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds and emergency squawk codes 7700 and 7500. Despite serious injuries, Machchhar managed to click open the cockpit door, allowing crew and passengers to overpower the co-pilot.

The jet was safely landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, by two off-duty flydubai pilots on board. Machchhar, who hails from Mumbai, underwent surgery and is now stable.

Machchhar's aviation journey began unexpectedly: after textile engineering and management studies at Welingkar, an aviation seminar inspired Smit Machchhar to train as a pilot in New Zealand. More than a decade later, he became a flydubai captain.

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