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NEW DELHI — <\/span>NEW DELHI (AP) \u2014 The Indian airline captain<\/a> who helped thwart an apparent attempt to crash a FlyDubai flight<\/a> described Friday how he fought for his life in the minutes after his co-pilot stabbed him<\/a> and the plane began a steep descent.<\/p>\n Capt. Smit Machchhar, recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised video call that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save his passengers. <\/p>\n \u201cI had so many wounds. I had fallen down,\u201d he said from the hospital, his head bandaged and tubes in his nose, before breaking down as he recalled the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cI was fighting for my life. At one point, I realized that if I didn\u2019t get up \u2026 then passengers would lose their lives,\u201d he told Modi.<\/p>\n Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, was seriously injured in Wednesday\u2019s attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, witnesses and Israeli authorities said. He has been hailed as a hero, with world leaders saying he helped avert a disaster.<\/p>\n The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. FlyDubai said Wednesday that the jet was secured by on-duty crew members \u201cwho diverted and landed the aircraft safely.\u201d A regional official said the crew members were pilots in training. <\/p>\n