Earlier this week we saw an absolutely horrifying incident, whereby a flydubai pilot operating a flight between Dubai (DXB) and Tel Aviv (TLV) stabbed the other pilot, and attempted to crash the plane. Fortunately he was stopped when the injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, and passengers could step in to help.
It seems pretty clear that this was some sort of a terror plot. I mean, anyone trying to down a plane with nearly 200 people onboard is committing an unthinkable act. However, one question has been whether the pilot is someone who was acting alone and was only recently radicalized, or what…
The flydubai first officer had a history of radicalization
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Omani flydubai first officer who stabbed the captain had previously been banned from flying by his home country of Oman. The reason is due to concerns he had adopted radical ideological views, according to people familiar with the matter.
It hasn’t been determined, however, whether Oman shared concerns about the pilot’s radicalization with other countries or airlines, nor do we know about the nature of his radicalization.
The UAE is leading the investigation into this terror plot, but has refused to comment, “to avoid prejudging the outcome of the investigation or interfering with its course.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said “the attacker underwent Islamic radicalization,” and that “he came to crash the passengers on board.”
Honestly, we are so lucky that this guy was incredibly sloppy with his scheme. You’d think he would’ve just locked the cockpit door while the captain was using the bathroom, so that this would actually work. The captain is a hero of the highest order, because if he hadn’t managed to open the door, everyone on that plane would without a doubt be dead (along with who knows how many people on the ground).
I don’t think this situation will be easy to recover from
Gulf airlines have of course had a really rough year, given the conflict with Iran, and the impact this has had on the region, including airports. The Gulf carriers have seen a significant decline in traffic — after all, they’ve historically used their hubs to shuttle people between other parts of the world, thanks to their advantageous geography.
As you’d expect, the sights of explosions at airports definitely hasn’t helped with convincing people to travel through the region. But if you ask me, this latest situation just took the issues for Gulf carriers to the next level. Right or wrong, I think this will make a lot more people reconsider traveling through the region, over concerns of a similar event in the future. And I’m not just talking about flydubai, but also other airlines. Again, I’m not suggesting that’s necessarily rational, but knowledge of terror plots is understandably disturbing to many people.
Unfortunately I have some skepticism here as to how transparently this investigation will be performed. The UAE is leading the investigation, flydubai is owned by the government, and we know that the UAE very much cares about its image. So if there were any shortcomings in the screening of pilots, I can’t imagine we’re going to get the full picture.
I’ve said for years that it’s logical for Emirates and flydubai to merge, and I can’t help but wonder if this is finally the catalyst for that. Maybe I’m just overthinking it because this is a big news story right now, but I truly believe this event is something that flydubai can never recover from, in terms of its reputation (that says nothing of the fact that the airline has an absolutely massive order book). It’s the same as how Germanwings was rebranded as Eurowings shortly after the pilot there had a terror plot.
Even from Emirates’ perspective, the airlines codeshare, and lots of global travelers might have a segment on flydubai, and immediately think twice about it, given the first thing that comes to mind. Again, I’m not saying any of that is rational, but companies spend a lot of money building an image, and something like this can destroy it pretty quickly.
Bottom line
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the flydubai pilot who attempted to crash the Israel-bound Boeing 737 and kill everyone onboard had apparently been banned from flying by Oman, over his radical views. It’s not yet clear to what extent that was shared with the UAE or with flydubai, or if their background checks into him were sufficient (I mean, seemingly not).
However, it makes it pretty clear that this guy wasn’t just radicalized overnight, and that this should’ve been prevented in the first place. I think this will be a major setback for many Gulf carriers, and in particular, I think this situation could be catastrophic for flydubai, at least in its current form.
What do you make of this report about the flydubai pilot’s radicalization?
The biggest question is how this fanatical lunatic got a weapon through security at DXB. I expect that the investigators will have some very tough questions for the airport's Head of Security when they get around to interviewing her.
Even if the Omanis failed to pass on the information, Dubai State Security should have caught this. Massive failure by the Emiratis. Most of the pilots employed by ME3 are expats with a lot originating from the Gulf and Middle East.
We are at a time in history where the next guy will not be so bumbling. Sad reality of the world in 2026.
Is the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv really so long that the pilot would necessarily have to use the bathroom? Doesn’t really seem like it…
It usually takes a little over three hours. It's not LaGuardia to Philly.
Maybe he was really guzzling some coffee!
Wow, if Oman had previously banned this guy, but flydubai still let him fly that’s really bad on the airline. Carriers should review whether crew members have been banned by other countries, especially on such grounds. Yikes.
With everything happening in the region an incident like this were there was no crash and no one died will probably cause less concern than you'd expect. I doubt most people who have heard of this situation could even name which airline was involved.
agree that this will change the behavior of a lot of folks, but imho as far as mental health goes, i'm a lot more concerned that any given oncoming driver on a rural highway could easily move their wrist 30 degrees and end me