ToI Community update: Extraordinary heroism and near-miraculous circumstances avert an airplane catastrophe * Join our Israeli election events in TLV and JLM * 1 day left to watch ‘There Is No Other Place’
Dear Times of Israel Community,
As I write, a reported 170 or so Israelis, 20-30 children among them, have just returned home, having survived an alleged attempt by a flydubai copilot to crash their plane and kill them all this morning.
Some of them have already conveyed their accounts of what happened on flight FZ1073 as it made its way from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Others will now fill in further details. But from what we already know, their survival would appear to be near-miraculous.
One passenger, Daniel, has described three Israeli fellow passengers as having forced their way into the cockpit and subdued the copilot, who had stabbed the captain. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first comments on the incident, echoed parts of that description, while also crediting other members of the flight crew, and said the copilot attacker was still attempting to damage the plane’s systems when he was overpowered.
Near-miracle 1: As far as I can determine, there is simply no precedent for people on board thwarting a pilot’s attempt to crash a commercial airliner.
As the drama played out, the plane plummeted and spun, out of control — reportedly spiraling 17,000 feet. After the copilot had been disarmed and bound, two off-duty pilots, who just so happened to be on board, brought the plunging airliner back under control and subsequently managed a safe landing at Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport.
Near-miracle 2: On landing, the plane appeared to have touched down with a chunk of its rudder missing — damage ascribed by experts in Hebrew media to the forces exerted upon the plane as it plummeted. How would the Boeing 737 have been brought safely down to earth, with no injuries reported to any of the passengers, were it not for the presence of two other pilots onboard?
Like I said, there are many questions unanswered at this point.
Some relate to the unprecedented salvation. How was it, for instance, that the passengers were able to get into the cockpit, whose reinforced door is supposed to be locked from the inside?
Others relate to the capacity of the copilot, reportedly an Omani national, to attempt the attack: Did lax airport security enable him to smuggle a deadly knife onto the plane? Did flydubai flout Israeli regulations which reportedly bar pilots from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel from piloting planes into and out of Tel Aviv?
And still others relate to barriers to any repetition: What can and should Israel do to boost security for passengers on foreign airlines flying in and out? Must it deploy Israeli security people on all such flights? Must it impose new limitations on which foreign airlines are permitted to fly here, and if so, where should it draw that line? The United Arab Emirates, after all, might reasonably be described these days as Israel’s closest ally in the region.
Describing the moments when the plane was diving and spinning out of control, passenger Daniel said, “It felt like, that’s it. It’s over. September 11 is happening again.”
On September 11, 2001, passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, aware that other hijacked airliners had been flown into the World Trade Center, attempted to break into the cockpit — whose door in those days was relatively lightweight — and overcome their hijackers. But they were unable to do so in time. The hijackers crashed the plane into a field near Shanksville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and everybody on board died.
Extraordinary heroism, and near-miraculous contextual circumstances, appear to have prevented an almost unpreventable tragedy today.
Already, a political battle is starting to play out in Israel over blame and responsibility — the apparently inevitable norm with general elections four weeks away. The self-evident priority, however, is to ensure that any and all essential steps are taken to bolster safety and security where it was manifestly breached today. Because copycat would-be terrorists are doubtless watching closely. And nobody has the right to assume that while disaster was so narrowly averted today, it won’t strike tomorrow.
— — —
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Exclusive Community event
📍 Jerusalem ⏐ Security, diplomacy, politics: Your questions, our answers.
Wednesday, October 14, 7pm | Stand With Us Center, Jerusalem
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Deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan is joined by military correspondent Emanuel Fabian, diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman, and political correspondent Ariela Karmel for a night of interactive polls and audience questions, followed by light refreshments.
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🎥 DocuNation: ‘There Is No Other Place’ film available for one more day; webinar recording
What happens when six Christian denominations and two rival Muslim families must share responsibility for Christianity’s most sacred site?
‘There Is No Other Place,’ the current film in our DocuNation series exclusively for The ToI Community, is still available for you to watch for one more day:
About ‘There Is No Other Place’
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, the most sacred place in Christendom, is shared by six different Christian denominations: Orthodox, Catholics, Armenians, Copts, Syrians, and the Ethiopians. They must all navigate the ancient and fragile Status Quo that governs the church and its shared spaces.
The guardians of the key to the Church are two Muslim families, both of which claim the right to be the keepers of the important key. Each of them has a credible story, as well as original documents given to them centuries ago. Johnny, an Israeli police officer, is responsible for keeping the peace in the Church. Watch the trailer.
Many of you joined and asked questions on our live webinar and Q&A with ‘There Is No Other Place’ director Anat Tel, held this past Sunday. If you missed it, a recording is available here now:
You can view all upcoming DocuNation films here, when logged into your Community account.
Have a question about the series? Email us.
Have a technical issue? Email DocuNation tech support.
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~ The Times of Israel Team