A former neighbour of Flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar in Mumbai has praised the pilot as a talented and soft-spoken person after reports emerged that he helped save 174 lives despite being seriously injured during an in-flight incident.

Dr Janit Shah, who spoke to ANI in Mumbai on Thursday, said he had known Machchhar and his family for around 10 to 15 years when they lived in the same neighbourhood.