His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, met the crew of flydubai flight FZ1073, who prevented an aviation disaster last month by subduing an attack by the co-pilot. Addressing them, he said: “Whatever happens in your lives, the UAE is your country. You have a home and a family here.” A longer video of the meeting, held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, October 27, has attracted widespread attention on social media.

The video shows a warm exchange between the UAE President and Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian flydubai pilot who suffered a head injury during the co-pilot’s attack. One of his hands remained bandaged and his arm was in a sling. Examining his injuries, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed asked: “When will you recover?” Machchhar replied: “Maybe in two months.” The UAE President then joked: “I have a suggestion. When you recover, I want to meet with you and teach you how to fight.” The Indian captain described the offer as “the greatest honour” of his life.

Elsewhere in the video, the UAE President told one crew member: “We are lucky to have you,” to which he replied: “I am also very lucky to be part of this team.” Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed then invited the other crew members to join him and reassured them that the UAE was their country and that they had a home and family there. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, also congratulated the injured captain, telling him: “Well done, well done.”

«امارات کشور شماست؛ اینجا خانه و خانواده دارید»؛ پیام صمیمانه رئیس دولت به خدمه فلای‌دبی در ویدیویی پربازدید

The meeting was held to honour the bravery of the flydubai crew. During the ceremony, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed awarded them the First Class Order of Zayed II, while Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, presented the medals to the crew members.

Flydubai flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30 with 174 passengers and eight crew members when the 29-year-old Omani co-pilot attacked the captain with an emergency axe. According to the UAE Public Prosecution, the attacker intended to hijack the aircraft and crash it into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport. Despite suffering serious injuries, Captain Machhar resisted the attacker and opened the cockpit door, allowing others to intervene. With the help of an off-duty pilot, a flight attendant and several passengers, the attacker was eventually restrained. The off-duty pilot and his co-pilot then landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.

Captain Machhar previously explained his decision to resist the attacker during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying: “I could not let everyone die.”