Who hired the extremist co-pilot, and why?
The Wall Street Journal is out with an exclusive alleging that the co-pilot who stabbed his captain on FlyDubai Flight 1073 as they flew between Dubai and Tel Aviv earlier this week, nearly downing the aircraft, had been banned from flying in his home country of Oman “over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views,” and that, despite the ban, FlyDubai hired the man anyway, “allowing him to pilot on the sensitive route connecting the United Arab Emirates and Israel.”
FlyDubai operates at two airports in Oman, Muscat and Salalah, but the aspiring terrorist co-pilot couldn’t fly those routes due to the ban. According to the Journal, whether the Omani government shared their concerns about the co-pilot’s radicalization with other countries or airlines is unable to be determined. But if he was hired by an airline that operated in a country in which he was prohibited from flying, it would seem that the carrier at least knew of the ban and would be curious as to the nature of the ban. Regardless, the route between Dubai and Tel Aviv is obviously subject to heightened scrutiny and security, and given that Israel doesn’t allow pilots whose passports are from countries with which it does not have diplomatic relations to land in the country — which includes Oman — that FlyDubai assigned this man to that route anyway is alarming and needs to be fully investigated.
Negligence, or malign intent on the part of the airline? Will we ever learn the answer? I doubt it. I think the tale will fade from view without our ever knowing.
The story itself, however, is one of feel-good heroics. So many brave heroes – the pilot and so many of the passengers – plumber, dentist, all.
We can celebrate, but the line between celebration and tragedy is often paper-thin, and that is true here. The plane could easily have broken apart from the forces that damaged the rudder. The new pilots might have had trouble landing it. The dentist who brought the plane out of a precipitous dive might not have acted properly or in time.
And yet, tragedy was averted and we can cheer.
Typo: first word in headline.
The captain of the flight (aka pilot, whose name, with a double “chch” I cannot spell) is a most remarkable and dedicated man who has been flying Boeing 737s for 11 years. A true hero.
bof:
Thanks, fixed.
Thanks be to God for averting a disaster!
Dentist?
(Moonlighting as a plumber?—Oh, right. I guess there is a connection…)
There’s more….
More and more details are emerging about the dramatic rescue operation aboard the FlyDubai plane. Now, two passengers have revealed to the Washington Post: The crew of the budget airline wanted to release the terrorist!
https://www.bild.de/news/ausland/flydubai-besatzung-wollte-terrorist-befreien-6ac17c82d993ea3f355f53a2
You may copy to translation program for English.
Unbelievable if true. What’s up with these people?
The plumber brought the plane out of a nosedive.
The dentist treated Smit, the wounded captain of the flight, and kept him alive until they landed and he could get proper treatment. He saved his life.
“The crew of the budget airline wanted to release the terrorist”…if this is true, then it suggests that hiring & retention standards at this airline are so poor that it should be banned from all civilized countries
This stinks of false flag
Um, meaning what, exactly?
C’mon, Barry, whoever heard of a Muslim hijacking an airplane? But thanks for proving what we already knew, “Keith”.
Well, OK.
But I’m still curious.
If he’s saying what I think he might be saying then that Indian pilot sure deserves an Oscar…and that sheared-off rudder was an elegant touch.
(Actually, they all deserve an Oscar…)
OTOH, one might well imagine that there are quite a few out there who are sorely, deeply, profoundly disappointed.
Grieving, even.
(They oughtn’t be too sad, though. No doubt, there will be other opportunities…as hope springs eternal….)
“…262 anti-Israel events planned worldwide around October 7 anniversary;
“Ministry report identifies pro-Palestinian protests and solidarity events in 37 countries, with 87 classified as medium or high risk and dozens planned near Israeli diplomatic facilities.”—
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/434132
But Keith, was 10/7 another “False Flag” and do you grieve for Gaza?
Don’t be shy.
Interesting update of a sort:
“FlyDubai Hijacker Wanted to Crash Into Tel Aviv Airport to Maximize Casualties”—
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/10/05/flydubai-hijacker-wanted-to-crash-into-tel-aviv-airport-to-maximize-casualties-n4957977
H/T Instapundit
The “only” problem with this theory is that it doesn’t really explain why the co-pilot seemed to want to CRASH the plane en route to Israel…unless he didn’t really intend to do that; that is, unless he intended to level off once he dispatched the pilot, which took him much longer than he expected—and in the end it turned out that he never did incapacitate him sufficiently.
(Which might raise the question: how—using an axe—does one flub incapacitating another?…unless the sharp dive—and/or confined space(?)—caused him to lose his balance and/or ability to maneuver, thus preventing him from landing more effective blows….)
Which makes one wonder if crashing the plane en route to Israel was Plan B…?
– – – – – – –
WRT “false flag”, perhaps our imaginative contributor means that Netanyahu decided to do EVERYTHING in his power to get re-elected in this month’s election(!)…
(Yes, even this.)
OR…maybe he means that Netanyahu’s opponents would do EVERYTHING in their power to ensure that Bibi would NOT get re-elected…
(Yes, even this.)
Not all that clear, actually.
(Or maybe it is…)
Barry, when da jooos are involved it’s *always* a false flag. Especially when it harshes somebody’s narrative.