'It breaks you': Friend of stabbed pilot speaks out

Dhaval Patel celebrates getting his captain's stripe with his wife and Smit Machchhar. ( Supplied: Dhaval Patel )

A close friend of the Indian flydubai captain who was attacked during a flight to Israel was shocked upon seeing footage of the incident.

He told the ABC that when incidents happen to people you love "it breaks you".

Mr Machchhar has been moved to Abu Dhabi for further treatment and is "recovering well," according to India's embassy in the United Arab Emirates.

When Smit Machcharr was training to become a pilot, his friends called him "Smit Mac".

Captain Dhaval Patel trained alongside him in New Zealand, and they have known each other for "close to two decades".

"I vividly remember him helping colleagues and peers, educating them on the concepts of aviation with so much clarity and knowledge," Mr Patel said.

"And I had the privilege of getting my fourth stripe on becoming a captain by his hand."

Copyright for this text belongs to ABC Australia.