Eliran Almog, a former Israeli helicopter pilot turned aviation cybersecurity firm CEO, explained just how "crazy" it was that the near-hijacked FlyDubai flight 1073 managed to land safely after a violent midair attack. "You can't imagine being in that position. You see the videos, you hear the kids screaming, and people don't necessarily understand what is happening," the former Israeli Air Force pilot told Fox News Digital.
After an Omani national copilot — who has since been identified as 29-year-old Hamam al-Hammami — allegedly stabbed FlyDubai flight 1073’s pilot Capt. Smit Machchhar mid-flight, the aircraft plummeted more than 14,000 feet in 30 seconds. "The g-force on the plane was enormous, and you basically think you are going to die," Almog said, adding "it's crazy that the aircraft did not break up in the air, and landing it with the tail damage it sustained was remarkable." FLYDUBAI PASSENGER SAYS CO-PILOT STABBED CAPTAIN BEFORE TERRIFYING PLUNGE, EMERGENCY LANDING Despite sustaining serious injuries, Machchhar was able to hit a button to open the cockpit door, allowing Israeli passengers to rush into the cockpit and subdue al-Hammami, officials said.
A second FlyDubai crew that happened to be aboard the craft then stabilized the plane and successfully completed an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. FLYDUBAI PILOT SHOWED WORLD 'THE HIGHEST FORM OF COURAGE,' INDIA'S PM SAYS "As a pilot, if I were in this situation, I'm not sure I could have landed the aircraft. Every commercial aircraft is different, requiring different setup, landing procedures and limitations," Almog explained.
Almog, who now advises airliners and adjacent businesses on how to shore up their cybersecurity, explained how crucial it was for carriers to ensure their pilots undergo thorough screening processes for both psychological and potential political risks. FLYDUBAI CO-PILOT ACCUSED OF STABBING CAPTAIN IDENTIFIED AS 29-YEAR-OLD OMANI NATIONAL "We give a lot of weight in the process to the characteristics of the pilot. The technical and cognitive skills are important, but we make sure that the pilot is balanced and resilient in extreme cases," he said.
"Because aviation is critical infrastructure, we must rethink how we screen pilots — not just initially, but continuously. Even for experienced pilots, we need the right tools in place to identify when someone is facing family issues, psychological distress, or developing extreme views that could impose risk. These are practices the industry needs to adopt, and I call on governments and regulators to step in," he continued.
PILOT’S SUDDEN DEATH DURING OVERNIGHT LAYOVER PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON FATIGUE CONCERNS While numerous countries, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, are conducting their own investigations into al-Hammami and the FlyDubai incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox & Friends in a Thursday interview that the copilot had been exposed to "Islamist radical indoctrination." President Donald Trump, meanwhile, suggested the pilot could have been trained or motivated by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). TRUMP’S IRAN CRACKDOWN COLLIDES WITH NATO ALLY SEEKING ACCESS TO AMERICA’S PRIZED FIGHTER JET Almog told Fox News Digital that geopolitical concerns, such as the ones imposed by the ongoing wars in the Middle East, are increasingly becoming airlines' top risk factor for a number of reasons. "If you ask the airlines today what are the main risks that they are looking forward on, it is geopolitical risk," he said.
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