Mumbai, Oct. 2 -- Residents of Swastik Heights at Tilak Nagar, Chembur, gathered in large numbers in the building compound on Thursday noon to raise a cheer for Captain Smit Machchar and demand that the government bestow a civil honour on him. "We are so proud that Smit saved so many lives," said the pilot's uncle Kishor Machchar. Another family friend, Vipul Mehta, promised a "grand felicitation when Smit is back in Mumbai." Machchar, the captain of Wednesday's flybydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv averted a major mid-air disaster when he fought back against the co-pilot of the aircraft who suddenly went rogue and stabbed Machchar multiple times in an apparent effort to crash. As the Boing 737 MAX 8 carrying 174 passengers plunged 14,300 feet, the Mumbai-born pilot fought back and opened the cockpit door allowing for passengers to come in and overpower the co-pilot whose name has still not been made public. "Becoming a pilot was not first choice, and it only changed after attending an aviation conference," Machchhar said in a YouTube podcast in October 2025, where he recalled being nervous in his first flight when he was under probation, according to a Bloomberg report. "Relaxing would have been the best option. Stressing is not gonna help in this industry," the report quoted Machchhar as saying in the podcast, Bona-Fide Bantar. Both, the Indian and Israeli prime ministers, hailed Machchar's courage and presence of mind. For his immediate family though, the concern is about Machchar's health. He is being treated at a military hospital at Tabruk in Saudi Arabia. Prior to that he had worked for 11 years at SpiceJet where he was a senior commander and a line training captain who trained and supervised other pilots. Machchar, 40, also started an aviation institute in Ghatkopar east called FlyBy Aviation Academy which is at present being managed by his cousin Pooja Ganatra....