After the plane plunged 14,000 feet after the cockpit attack, the Israeli Air Force tried to contact the cockpit but got no answer, prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets.
After an Omani pilot stabbed Indian captain Smit Machchhar on a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight last week, Israeli authorities faced a tough choice of shooting down the flight despite having more than 150 Israelis aboard.
Two Israeli sources with direct knowledge of the situation told CBS News that Israel was prepared to shoot down the flight after the captain was attacked with a crash axe in the cockpit. Israel has a long-practised procedure for this kind of possible 9/11-style event, they said.
After the plane plunged 14,000 feet following the attack, the Israeli Air Force tried to contact the cockpit but got no answer. A command centre was established and Israel’s airspace was closed, while fighter jets were scrambled to take stock of the situation.
Israel called back its jet once the plane turned towards Saudi Arabia, prompting Riyadh to scramble its own jets. Eventually, the captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, and a group of Israeli passengers and Flydubai staff restrained the co-pilot.
What Were Israel’s Options?
As per the CBS News report, if the flight had gotten within a certain distance of the Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel would have sent jets into Jordanian airspace to investigate. The Israeli fighter pilots would have gotten as close as possible to inspect the cockpit and try to make visual contact with the pilot to assess the situation.
If there appeared to be panic in the cabin, the pilots would relay their findings to the Air Force and a pre-established committee. If it was determined that the plane was hijacked and the potential hijackers maintained radio silence, the committee would contact the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
Israel has a policy of shooting down a rogue aircraft, but only the Prime Minister is authorised to make that decision. The Israeli sources said that shooting down the passenger jet would be considered better than many hundreds being killed if the plane slammed into Israel’s prominent Azrieli buildings, the airport or another “high-value target.”
The Omani co-pilot, identified as Hammam Al-Hammami, is currently in the United Arab Emirates, where he is undergoing a second round of interrogation after first being questioned by Saudi authorities when the plane made its emergency landing. Israel has sent its own representatives to the UAE to participate in the investigation.
