Co-pilot accused of trying to hijack Israel-bound flydubai flight
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
A co-pilot suspected of trying to hijack an Israel-bound flydubai flight with 174 people aboard was **banned by Oman over radical views** — and somehow kept flying. Read that again. A man his own country’s security services flagged as a threat was sitting in the cockpit of a commercial jet.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
The flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain and trying to hijack an Israel-bound flight was identified as Hamam al-Hammami – who was previously banned from flying by Oman over fears he’d adopted radical ideological views, according to a new report.
The aviator, an Omani national, was still hired by the Dubai-based airline despite the ban, allowing him to fly the sensitive route connecting the United Arab Emirates and Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported , citing people familiar with the matter.
It was not immediately clear if Oman shared concerns about the pilot’s radicalization with other countries or airlines, according to the publication. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that “the attacker underwent Islamist radicalization,” and that “he intended to crash the plane with all its passengers on board.” “We are now investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price,” Netanyahu said in the statement.
Here’s the latest on the Israel-bound plane suspected terror attack: Hero flydubai passenger still covered in blood meets Netanyahu as passengers arrive in Israel after hijacking attempt Pilot arrested for attempting to crash passenger plane in ‘jihadist terrorist attack’: Israeli officials Israel-bound plane pilot stabbed by co-pilot, causing jet to plunge 18K feet: They ‘tried to do 9/11’ Graphic video shows blood-drenched pilot clinging to life after ‘attempted terror attack’ Flight 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv was carrying 182 people on Wednesday when the Omani co-pilot allegedly launched the attack, causing the plane to plummet 18,000 feet in a terrifying nosedive.
Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The captain, Smit Machchhar, staved off his attacker, allowing heroic passengers and off-duty pilots to leap into action and gain control of the out-of-control flight.
Wednesday’s mid-air attack represented a significant security failure, according to aviation-security analysts. Although a screening error might have allowed the weapon allegedly used by al-Hammami onto the aircraft, analysts told The Journal that he should have been detected and caught long before reaching the airport.
The co-pilot, whom Israel’s defense minister called “a jihadist terrorist attack” Wednesday, had worked for flydubai for less than a year. All pilots working for the Dubai-based airline undergo security screening before flying and medical checks at least once a year, a former crewmember and current Emirates pilot told the publication.
First officers graduating to captain status must undergo in-house psychology checks but it is unknown if the Omani national underwent a similar check, The Journal reported. Israel and the UAE are known to have high security protocols at the airports, with Israeli airlines flying into Dubai following stricter security measures than other countries flying the same route, according to The Journal.
Israel has long called on Dubai airport officials to tighten security for flights bound for Tel Aviv, a country official said. In the aftermath of the attack, flydubai has halted all flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv until further notice.
Original source:
Read at New York PostHow We See It
New Republican Times Editorial Board
A co-pilot suspected of trying to hijack an Israel-bound flydubai flight with 174 people aboard was banned by Oman over radical views — and somehow kept flying. Read that again. A man his own country’s security services flagged as a threat was sitting in the cockpit of a commercial jet. That’s not a closed file. That’s a blinking alarm nobody pulled.
The crew subdued him before it got worse. The flight turned back to Dubai, passengers landed safe, and the story will probably fade by tomorrow. But the pattern won’t. Airlines and governments promise layers of screening, intelligence sharing, and checks on everyone who steps into a cockpit. Somewhere between Oman’s ban and a flydubai departure gate, someone dropped the ball. The hijacking didn’t happen. The real question is why it was ever possible.
Here’s the uncomfortable part. The warning came from Oman, a country Washington’s foreign policy class prefers to lecture over listen to. Maybe that deserves a second look. The lesson isn’t complicated: when a security service raises a flag on a pilot, that information needs to travel with him around the world. Instead it stayed in a file while he boarded an airplane. The red flag was real, but it didn’t matter.
Israel-bound. UAE airline. Omani co-pilot. Three legal systems, three sets of security procedures, and the one thing that worked was the crew in the cabin. We should be grateful for them and demanding answers from everyone else. The system had one job — vet people before they get that close to 174 lives. It failed, and we’re lucky the failure wasn’t a mass casualty event.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.