During a phone call with PM Modi, the injured pilot, who received global appreciation for saving 170 lives on the flydubai flight despite facing a life-threatening attack in the cockpit, said the Prime Minister is his biggest idol.
Smit Machchhar, the flydubai hero pilot, told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he recited Hanuman Chalisa– a devotional hymn — to draw courage during the confrontation with his co-pilot aboard the flight to Tel Aviv that became a global talking point.
Earlier on Thursday, PM Modi also spoke with the family members of Captain Smit Machchhar, lauding his valour mid-air. PM Modi, on his part, applauded the courage and resourcefulness of Captain Machchhar, whose act of bravery, and stressed that Indian missions are providing all possible assistance to the pilot. “Whenever I am in pain, I recite Hanuman Chalisa. PM Modi consoled him, validating his emotions. “You have done such a brave act that people from across India and the world want to talk to you. The Prime Minister stressed that Indian missions are providing all possible assistance to the pilot.
At that time also, I was reciting Hanuman Chalisa, and I know that it was God who saved me,” he said.
