US House Bill Honors Indian Pilot for Foiling Terror Attack

A US House bill introduced by Congressmen Josh Gottheimer, Don Bacon, and Michael McCaul seeks to honor Indian Captain Smit Machchhar for thwarting an attempted terrorist attack on flydubai Flight 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30. The first officer attacked Machchhar with an emergency crash axe, causing the plane to lose over 16,000 feet in under 30 seconds. Machchhar fought off the attack, allowing off-duty pilots and crew to restrain the first officer, and the aircraft diverted safely to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The bill condemns the attack and calls for a full investigation.