Gee, what was the first clue? The knife in the cockpit and the 737’s sudden dive don’t count, either.
According to GB News and Israeli media, FlyDubai’s so-far-unnamed terrorist pilot offered plenty of clues to warn the airline about assigning him to a Tel Aviv route. The pilot was already known as a “religious extremist” who prayed ostentatiously and refused physical contact with females, even to shake hands. A FlyDubai employee offered an anonymous condemnation of his employer as betraying the UAE by assigning an Omani to the route:
News anchor Yosef Yisrael said the source detailed how the pilot “was someone characterised by very strange behaviour, especially around religious observances that were out of step with his surroundings”.
He added: “For instance, he used to pray a lot, and would not shake hands with women.”
The source also claimed that usually only Emiratis fly to Israel – and accused the airline of betraying his country.
“There is no other way to put it, we hired the services of a terrorist and nearly caused the deaths of 180 people,” the source said.
Bear in mind that this was not merely internal policy. Channel 16’s source refers to FlyDubai’s contractual requirement to screen pilots (and presumably other flight crews) for all service to and from Israel. Any pilot from a country that does not recognize Israel is supposed to be barred from that assignment, with the lessons of 9/11 clearly in mind. The terrorist comes from Oman, which has never recognized Israel, and which – coincidentally or not – plays a lot of footsie with the IRGC in Iran, which in turn sponsors Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which keep attempting to destroy Israel.
In fact, the failure is so clear and the threat so obvious that the Israelis, Saudis, and even the Emiratis want to know whether this was a failure at all. Given Oman’s closeness to the IRGC, the potential for a deliberate terror operation directed by Iran has become a real possibility in this near-disaster:
The United Arab Emirates on Thursday launched investigations into possible “terrorist activity” aboard flydubai’s Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after the copilot stabbed the pilot in an apparent attempt to crash the plane full of Israeli passengers.
According to the Gulf country’s state news agency, the probes are seeking to establish the circumstances and motives and determine “whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose, or involved prior planning or direction.” …
A regional official briefed on the investigation said the suspect, an Omani citizen, was under arrest, and confirmed that Saudi authorities were working with countries, including Israel, to try to determine a motive. He said the UAE, the United States and Oman were also involved. The official did not describe the extent of Israeli involvement. … Israel is expecting more significant findings from the Emirati investigation, according to the official.
The Israeli embassy in the UK spoke more bluntly with GB News:
“We assume this is a jihadi attack on Israeli citizens,” spokesman Alex Gandler said. “But we need to take more precaution in regards to assuming things at the moment.
“We don’t know if it’s a lone wolf attack or [if this was] state driven, maybe state sponsored.
“Those details are still being investigated by our security agencies, together with security agencies from around the region.”
Did Iran infiltrate a radical pilot into FlyDubai? And perhaps a mole or two who have control over pilot assignments? Early reports indicated that the terrorist-pilot had worked less than a year for the airline. The airline began providing route service between Dubai and Tel Aviv in November 2020, shortly after the UAE normalized relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords. FlyDubai is ultimately owned and controlled by the UAE through its sovereign wealth fund, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the organization suddenly wanted to play ball with Israel. And the UAE’s partnership with Israel certainly would make it a target in a war, not to mention the utter devastation Israel has wreaked on IRGC proxies Hamas and Hezbollah since the beginning of the October 7 war in Gaza and Lebanon.
If that’s the case, you’d better believe the Emiratis want to know about it. And the Israelis, the Saudis, and Donald Trump too. The failure here is just too obvious to simply shrug off as an oversight.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America’s military.
Help us continue to report on Trump and Hegseth’s successes as they make our military great again. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
