The incident aboard a Flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv intensified concerns in Israel about flight safety, as well as political debate over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements. An Israeli newspaper argued that the developments pointed to shortcomings in early-warning mechanisms, security measures and intelligence services.
While the aircraft was in Jordanian airspace, it first transmitted the general emergency code 7700 and then code 7500, which indicates a hijacking. Israeli television reports alleged that the incident stemmed from a fight between the two pilots and that the co-pilot, described as an Omani national, attacked the captain with a knife.
The same reports claimed that the co-pilot attacked the captain several times, that crew members and some passengers entered the cockpit to intervene, and that the passengers prevented the aircraft from crashing. Netanyahu said there were indications that one of the pilots had tried to bring down the aircraft.
Criticism of Netanyahu’s statements
The newspaper wrote that Netanyahu had posed in front of F-15 fighter jets a day before the incident and issued exaggerated warnings, lacking a concrete basis, that enemies would sabotage the elections. The newspaper said these statements led to public confusion and harsh criticism from the opposition.
The assessment said Netanyahu’s claim that he had been aware of a specific threat to civil aviation before the attack contained contradictions. The newspaper questioned why the necessary measures had not been taken if such a threat was known, and why Netanyahu had created a nonexistent danger if it was not known.
Criticism was also published that Netanyahu had sought to promote himself by posing for photographs with the rescued passengers, while avoiding responsibility during crises and tragedies. It was alleged that Israeli intelligence found the government’s attempts to directly link the incident to Iran to be unsupported by evidence and logic.
Concerns over flight safety
Concerns among Israelis about flights operated by foreign airlines increased after the incident aboard the Flydubai aircraft. It was assessed that some airlines could reduce or temporarily suspend their services to Israel because of fears of a new attack.
Media outlets supporting the government and Netanyahu’s supporters portrayed the prime minister as a self-sacrificing messiah who had saved the West and Israel. The same circles described the alleged attempt as the result of Netanyahu’s supernatural intuition or a divine miracle.
Conflicting accounts of the cockpit fight
Flydubai said the cause of the fight that broke out in the cockpit of the aircraft operating the Dubai–Tel Aviv route had not yet been established. In a statement dated October 1, Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said an initial investigation involving security experts from the United Arab Emirates had determined that the co-pilot attacked the pilot and that both pilots were injured in the incident.
After receiving initial medical treatment, the pilots left Saudi Arabia for Abu Dhabi accompanied by a team of security experts from the United Arab Emirates.
