An Omani man stabbed the captain of a jetliner travelling to Israel, triggering a near-disastrous incident that has prompted calls for a massive security clampdown. The alleged assailant, who had worked for the airline for eight months, is being interrogated in Saudi Arabia.
The pilot, Indian Capt Smit Machchhar, fought back and allowed passengers to intervene. He is recovering in Saudi Arabia. Passengers got to the attacker moments before he could jam the plane's instruments, preventing what could have been a mass casualty atrocity.
Plane plummeted 17,400 feet
The stricken plane plummeted 17,400 feet in two minutes, making it remarkable that the captain was able to help others get into the cockpit while fighting his colleague. Relieved passengers landed at Israel's Ben Gurion airport.
Many Israeli flights have in the past carried armed undercover security officers ready to spring into action if a hijacking or suicide attack was launched. Crew members have been trained to alert the pilot covertly by pressing silent communications alerts.
Possible reintroduction of anti-hijacking tactics
One method of combating hijackers was for the pilot to send the plane into a deep dive, knocking assailants off their feet while undercover security officers sprang into action. Airport security became so tight post-9/11 that this kind of training may have taken less priority, but this sort of thing may well be re-introduced after this latest attack.
This was not an Israeli airline flight, even though it was mostly full of Israelis, so it was probably beyond their control. Israel has for decades led the way in combating mid-air hijacking and has successfully thwarted attacks, either shooting dead or seizing assailants mid-hijacking or arresting them before they join a flight.
Speculation over Iran link
Oman's proximity to Iran will lead to speculation that this may relate to the US war in the region and long-standing tension between Iran and Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it is too early to say, but he did say Israel had not received any specific warning from intelligence agencies prior to the attack.
He added: “What we had is a lot of information streaming in that Iran’s proxies, in particular Hezbollah and Hamas, were planning attacks against Israel and Israeli civilians abroad. But I can’t tell you that we had any specific warning about this.”
Investigation into attacker's motives
Most of the 174 passengers were Israeli, and the incident will prompt a huge security review by Tel Aviv and others of how better to protect commercial passengers. Whether the attack was personal, a mental illness issue or an actual terror attack will be the subject of an intense investigation.
The suspect could be among the five per cent of Shia that make up Oman’s population, which is largely neutral in the war between the US and largely Shia Iran. An attempted stabbing that would lead to the assailant’s own death if downing the plane was the plan would make this a would-be suicide attack. He could have felt loyalty towards Sunni Hamas, the Sunnis making up 45% of Oman’s population, the rest being Ibadi Muslims.
This could have been Hamas or Hezbollah-related, or there could be a connection to Iraqi pro-Iranian groups or the Yemeni Houthis. Al-Qaeda have wanted to repeat their 9-11 atrocity for a quarter of a century. Investigators will urgently be trying to find out if this was a plot planned by a state or a particular terrorist network and whether the attacker was recruited after he had qualified as a pilot.
Cooperation with Saudi Arabia
Cooperation between the Israelis and the Saudis will be interesting as the two countries had apparently warmed to each other before the war in Gaza. The Saudis have not been over-helpful in the aftermath of the attack, despite going out of their way correctly to care for the Israeli passengers. Israel has not immediately been helped in its investigation into the flight crew, with the Saudis not quickly being forthcoming to the Israeli Mossad team making enquiries.
It is believed most of the immediate aftermath information was fed to Mossad by UAE officials, the United States and the passengers themselves. In recent months Israel had been feeding Saudi Arabia with intelligence regarding its developing conflict against the Houthis, so the Israelis had expected greater reciprocal cooperation.
This near-horror mass casualty attack has been narrowly averted and will prompt an urgent review of how airline crews are screened.
