An old podcast in which Indian pilot Smit Machchhar spoke about his unlikely journey into aviation, his mother’s fears about his career and the unpredictable situations pilots can face in the air has resurfaced following the Flydubai Flight FZ1073 incident. Machchhar was injured during a cockpit altercation on September 30, after Israeli officials said his co-pilot had attempted to take control of the aircraft.Captain Machchhar, a former SpiceJet pilot and current flydubai captain, was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the co-pilot, an Omani national as per Israeli media reports, stabbed him inside the cockpit. The aircraft, carrying 174 people with mostly Israeli passengers, including 27 children, later made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.The incident has brought attention to an old podcast in which Machchhar spoke about his life as a pilot, the growth of Indian aviation and how pilots are trained to respond when things go wrong.ALSO READ | Plunged 14,000 feet in 29 secs: How stabbed Indian pilot averted flydubai crashThe Bona-Fide Banter interviewIn the interview on Bona-Fide Banter with Zalak Mehta, recorded months before the flydubai incident, Machchhar had said that becoming a pilot was never part of his initial plan.He had trained in textile engineering and was expected to join his family business. It was only when he was 19 and attending a management course that an aviation seminar introduced him to the possibility of becoming a pilot. The decision surprised his family, especially his mother. “My mom was scared,” Machchhar said, explaining that aviation was a very different profession when he began his career and that becoming a pilot was far less common at the time.He said his mother was worried about the nature of the job and the risks that come with flying. However, his father was comfortable with the decision.In the podcast, Captain is seen explaining emergencies before he himself became the subject of one.Story continues below this adSpeaking about technical problems and diversions, he said pilots often see such situations differently from passengers. “As a pilot I would be like… man… diversion is just a part of flying,” he said.He explained that commercial aviation operates through multiple layers of safety procedures, from mandatory checks carried out by pilots to detailed aircraft maintenance protocols.Machchhar also discussed the Minimum Equipment List, or MEL, which allows aircraft to operate with certain equipment temporarily unavailable under specified conditions and safeguards.His larger message was to avoid concluding before an investigation establishes what actually happened. “Nothing is luck when it comes to aviation… let it come out right, and in today’s world, nothing is hidden,” he said.Story continues below this adHe said aviation incidents should be examined through official investigations rather than immediate speculation or blame. The conversation was not limited to technical aspects of flying. Machchhar also recalled some of the more unexpected situations pilots can encounter during a flight.He said one incident involved a pregnant passenger who went into premature labour mid-air. “Suddenly, in the next couple of minutes we got a call that we’ve got a baby on board,” he recalled.For Machchhar, such moments illustrated the unpredictable nature of commercial flying and the need for pilots and crew to remain composed when circumstances change without warning.From SpiceJet till nowMachchhar began his commercial flying career with SpiceJet in 2011 and spent around 11 years with the airline. He later became a senior commander and line training captain, a role that involved training and assessing other pilots.Story continues below this adHe joined Flydubai as a captain in June 2022 and has since been based in Dubai. His professional profile lists around 9,750 hours of flying experience on Boeing 737 aircraft.The pilot’s experience became critical during Wednesday’s emergency.According to reports, Machchhar was stabbed after confronting the co-pilot, who allegedly attempted to take control of the aircraft. Despite being injured, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene and overpower the attacker. Two off-duty pilots travelling as passengers also helped take control of the aircraft before it was diverted to Tabuk.The aircraft had undergone a loss of altitude during the incident, with flight-tracking data showing a drop of about 14,300 feet in roughly 37 seconds.