The Indian pilot of the Flydubai plane who was attacked by his co-pilot and opened the cockpit door to let others in has said he was determined not to let others die.

Capt Smit Machchhar said he was on the ground and still being attacked when he realised the plane carrying more than 170 passengers was sinking and he had to do something.

“I was lying on the floor injured but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,” he said in a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Others came in and also played a role [in controlling the situation]. I was of course fighting for my own life but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die,” he added.

Flydubai’s flight FZ1073, which was bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai early on Wednesday morning, plunged more than 17,000ft (5,200m) two and a half hours into its journey.

It first sent an emergency signal to air traffic controllers before switching to code squawk 7500, which indicates hijacking.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later told the media that one pilot had stabbed the other before “apparently trying to crash” the plane.

After fellow passengers overpowered the attacker, two reserve pilots, who were in the plane as passengers, safely landed the plane at Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia at 06:58 local time.

Machchhar, who has been hailed as a “true hero” by Netanyahu, was taken to hospital in Tabuk before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he is reported to be in a stable condition.

He told Modi he had been flying planes for 17 years and “can tell what is happening to the plane even with my eyes closed”.

Indian social media has been awash with praise for him since his identity emerged.

Modi told the pilot that “his courage, patience and quick decision-making saved the lives of so many people” and the whole country was proud of him.

The Indian embassy in the UAE on Thursday said Machchhar was “in good health and recovering well”. Ambassador Deepak Mittal said he was “proud of Capt Smit for his bravery” and “very reassured” to meet him.

“I am not looking at this wound like a wound because that would make my recovery even more difficult,” Machchhar said.

“I am looking at it as a journey which is slowly going on and will take time but I am confident that the recovery will be there and I will become fit and healthy again.”