Gov't, security bodies point fingers, deny responsibility over flydubai attempted hijacking
The pilot, Hammam al-Maami, who allegedly tried to crash the aircraft, had visited Israel before the flight in question and had last landed at Ben-Gurion Airport one week earlier, according to N12.
Israeli authorities are investigating whether pilots with dual citizenship, including Iranian, Syrian, or Iraqi, have landed at Ben-Gurion Airport in recent years following an attempted plane crash by an Omani flydubai pilot carrying 174 Israeli passengers. The pilot, Hammam al-Maami, had previously visited Israel and landed at Ben-Gurion Airport one week before the alleged incident.
Israeli officials have not been granted access to the pilot and are relying on information from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Transportation Ministry's Security and Cyber Division denies responsibility for conducting intelligence background checks on foreign pilots, stating they perform security assessments with airlines and local authorities.
The division also noted that they had not received the names of flydubai pilots in advance and that their procedures do not include assessing threats like a terrorist attack by a pilot. The ministry's Security Division held its first briefing with reporters, flatly denying claims that it had received the names of the flight crew.
They stated that foreign airlines conduct background checks on their own crews, and the ministry requests confirmation of these checks. The Transportation Ministry could not state with certainty which pilots had landed in Israel in recent years. Israeli authorities are collaborating with international partners to identify any such pilots.
The defense establishment is considering the possibility that other pilots posing similar risks could be employed by foreign airlines. Israeli intelligence agencies do not routinely monitor the backgrounds of foreign pilots. The pilot held an Omani passport, which barred him from boarding a flight to Israel without a visa or entry permit, according to the Civil Aviation Authority's head Shmuel Zakai.
Flydubai suspended its flights to Israel following the incident, and the security cabinet decided that the airline would not resume flights until the circumstances of the event were clarified.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
