IDF scrambled fighters, prepared to shoot down Flydubai jet

Israel reportedly came close to shooting down the Flydubai passenger jet which was nearly hijacked en route to Tel Aviv.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel came close to confronting the possibility of shooting down a passenger plane carrying more than 170 people, most of them Israelis, according to multiple Israeli sources cited by CBS News after the co-pilot of a Flydubai flight attacked the captain and apparently attempted to turn the aircraft into a weapon.

New details about the dramatic response to the attack aboard Flight FZ1073 show that the Israeli Air Force scrambled fighter jets, closed Israeli airspace and activated procedures designed for a potential 9/11-style attack as the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight suddenly plunged thousands of feet and stopped responding to attempts to contact the cockpit.

Israeli officials were prepared to destroy the aircraft if it continued toward Israel and was determined to have been hijacked, according to people with direct knowledge of the response.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 had been cruising at roughly 33,000 feet when the co-pilot attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar with an emergency crash axe. The aircraft then fell roughly 14,000 to 16,000 feet in a matter of about a minute as a struggle unfolded inside the cockpit.

Attempts by the Israeli Air Force to establish radio contact went unanswered, raising fears that the aircraft had been seized and could be headed toward Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv or another major Israeli target.

Israel immediately activated a prearranged emergency committee and established a command center while fighter aircraft were sent into the air.

Had FZ1073 continued toward Israel, the fighters were expected to enter Jordanian airspace and approach the passenger plane, attempting first to establish visual contact with the pilots.

The Israeli crews would also have examined the passenger cabin for signs of panic or a struggle before reporting their observations to officials on the ground.

If the aircraft were determined to be under terrorist control and continued toward Israel without responding, the matter would have been escalated to the defense minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Only the prime minister could authorize the destruction of the passenger aircraft.

Officials involved in the procedure viewed shooting down the plane — despite the large number of Israelis aboard — as preferable to allowing it to strike Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv’s Azrieli towers or another “high-value target.”

As the crisis unfolded, the wounded Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door despite the severity of his wounds. His actions allowed passengers and crew members to enter the cockpit and overpower the attacker.

“I knew that the aircraft was going down,” Machchhar later recalled.

Although badly wounded and fighting for his own survival, the veteran pilot said he was thinking about the passengers behind him.

“But I also knew I couldn’t let all of them die,” he said.

Passengers including Yaniv Hayoun rushed into the cockpit and wrestled with the attacker as the aircraft continued its uncontrolled descent. Hayoun later said the injured captain himself initially obstructed the door because he had collapsed behind it.

“The door apparently wasn’t locked, and we managed to open it,” Hayoun said.

Two additional Flydubai pilots who were traveling aboard the flight ultimately took control, and the aircraft turned away from Israel toward Saudi Arabia.

Once Israeli authorities saw that the jet was heading toward Saudi territory, the Israeli fighters were recalled. Saudi Arabia had meanwhile scrambled its own military aircraft, and the passenger plane eventually landed safely in Tabuk.

The co-pilot was arrested by Saudi authorities and subsequently transferred to the United Arab Emirates, where he remains in custody.

The UAE prosecutor general has formally described the incident as a “terrorist attack.”

The co-pilot has been identified by people familiar with the investigation as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami. Investigators now believe the attack may have been planned long before he boarded Flight 1073.

Israeli officials said the co-pilot told interrogators that he had sought employment with an airline that operated flights to Tel Aviv and had developed the plan before being hired by Flydubai.

Investigators also believe he previously operated another flight to Tel Aviv and considered carrying out an attack on that occasion before abandoning the plan. The reason for that decision remains under investigation.

The revelations have intensified scrutiny of how an Omani citizen was permitted to serve as a pilot on a flight to Israel in the first place.

Israel and Oman do not have diplomatic relations, and Netanyahu has said longstanding aviation security arrangements prohibit citizens of countries without diplomatic ties with Israel from operating flights into the country.

Authorities are also investigating reports that the co-pilot had previously been flagged over extremist views.

Netanyahu has ordered a broader review of security procedures governing foreign airlines operating flights to Israel.