Bhubaneswar, Oct. 2 -- Captain Smit Machchhar, the flydubai pilot who survived a violent cockpit attack during a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, has revealed how he kept reciting the Hanuman Chalisa while fighting for his life.

Machchhar shared the emotional detail during a video conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2026. The captain was recovering in a hospital in Abu Dhabi after suffering serious injuries during the attack on flydubai Flight FZ1073.

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While speaking to Modi, Machchhar recalled what was going through his mind after he was seriously wounded.

He said, "Whenever I...