Israeli authorities were prepared to shoot down an Omani co-pilot when he attempted to hijack and crash a flydubai plane bound for Israel, sending a hijack signal from the plane, a report has revealed.
According to a CBS News report, Tel Aviv had long anticipated such a situation and had even practiced ways to deal with a 9/11-like incident.
Hastily built command center
According to the report, when the plane plummeted nearly 18,000 feet in a matter of seconds, the Israeli Air Force attempted to contact the cockpit but received no response. This triggered a pre-determined process. A pre-established committee immediately met and established a command center.
There was complete preparation to shoot down the flight
Fighter jets were quickly scrambled and Israeli airspace was closed, but before the Flydubai flight could be targeted, Israel discovered that the plane had turned toward Saudi Arabia instead of its territory, where Saudi Arabia had also dispatched its jets.
Israeli authorities attempted to contact the jet again. According to sources, Israel learned that the Indian pilot managed to open the cockpit door after a struggle with the co-pilot. A group of Israeli passengers and FlyDubai employees overpowered the attacker, while the two off-duty pilots took control of the plane and made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Why did Israel not attack the plane?
“Had Flight 1073 come within a certain distance, Israel would have sent a jet into Jordanian airspace to investigate,” sources told CBS News. The sources elaborated on Israel’s established protocol for a hijacking situation. Under this protocol, if ground command fails to contact the plane in time, Tel Aviv would send fighter pilots to observe what is happening inside the flight.
Sources said the pilots of the Israeli fighter jets may have gone as close as possible to check the cockpit and try to make eye contact with the pilot to assess the situation.
He added, “They would have done the same with the cabin to assess the condition of the passengers. If there was panic, they would have reported their findings to the Air Force and a pre-established committee.”
Sources said that if it was confirmed that the plane had been hijacked and the hijackers did not make any radio contact without making any demands, the committee would contact the Defence Minister and the Prime Minister and discuss further action.
What is Israel’s policy?
Sources told CBS that protocol requires any suspicious or uncontrolled aircraft approaching Israel to be shot down mid-air, but only the prime minister could take that decision.
Tel Aviv also believes that if such a plane were to hit Israel’s famous Azeri buildings, airports or other important locations, killing hundreds of people, it would be better to shoot down the passenger plane mid-air.
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