Transcript [00:00] but anybody else for that matter. [00:01] 03444991000. [00:05] Um let's go back then to this uh curious [00:08] story um curious and almost fatal story [00:12] of the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Um [00:15] where a a a hijacker, there's no other [00:18] way to put this. Somebody clearly with [00:21] murderous intent, a terrorist if you [00:24] like, was overpowered by passengers [00:26] averting a major disaster. Uh, let's [00:29] speak to Elon Levy, former Israeli [00:32] government spokesman. Elon, good morning [00:33] to you. Nice to have you with us. [00:35] >> Good morning. I mean, this is what's [00:37] just lingering. What a terrible morning [00:39] this could have been. [00:40] >> Unbelievable. Co-pilot. Yeah. [00:42] >> Yeah. Who hijacked the plane had managed [00:44] to crash it with with everyone on board. [00:45] >> We we see the world seems to be full of [00:47] stories these days that, you know, if [00:49] you put into a film or a book, people [00:51] would say that would never happen. Um, [00:53] we seem to be getting a lot of this in [00:55] different ways. And this is another sort [00:57] of example. You know, when you think of [00:59] a hijacker, you think of some moody [01:00] student with a rucks sack sitting on row [01:03] F who's ready to pounce mid-flight. This [01:05] was a man in the cockpit for goodness [01:07] sake flying the actual airplane. [01:09] >> You're right. This story is insane. [01:11] We're talking about the co-pilot himself [01:14] trying to hijack the plane by force [01:16] stabbing the pilot, then seizing control [01:19] of the aircraft and trying to crash it. [01:21] We don't know what the target was, [01:22] whether he was hoping to get into [01:24] Israeli airspace and crash into a [01:26] building or to crash the plane into the [01:28] Arabian desert with 180 people on board. [01:31] But everyone should be concerned about [01:33] that choke point that a co-pilot can [01:35] hijack a plane like that. You said it's [01:37] stranger than fiction. I mean, I'm [01:39] looking forward to seeing the Netflix [01:41] adaptation with Leor Raz from Fowler [01:44] playing the Israeli plumber who burst [01:47] into the cockpit and grabbed these [01:49] systems because he'd watched he'd [01:51] watched Mayday Air crash investigation. [01:53] That was how he pulled the plane out of [01:55] a nose dive, [01:56] >> which is just extraordinary. Let's go [01:57] back to this incredibly serious plot to [02:00] uh down a flight to Tel Aviv from Dubai [02:03] yesterday. It didn't happen because of [02:05] the diligence of the pilot and the [02:08] passengers and that's what really sets [02:10] this off. You were just talking about [02:12] the extraordinary u bravery of one [02:15] passenger, you know, a plumber who gets [02:18] involved and and helps save the day as [02:20] it were. Um and and this naturally we [02:24] can marvel at the bravery of this but we [02:27] can't understate just what this would [02:29] have meant had the pilot being stabbed [02:32] more severely and incapacitated [02:34] this would have been a very different [02:36] story this morning. Yeah, it is a [02:38] miracle that the Indian pilot was able, [02:41] having been stabbed, to open the door to [02:43] the cockpit so that passengers could [02:45] rush into the cockpit just in time, [02:48] restrain the co-pilot with the knife and [02:51] stop the plane from the nose dive that [02:53] was about to crash it into the desert. [02:55] We were very close to a mass casualty [02:57] incident with the plane either having, [03:00] you know, been crashed into a target or [03:02] crashed into the desert. Um, and this is [03:05] obviously very concerning because [03:07] airlines can put as much security as [03:09] they want. There is still that critical [03:11] choke point of a pilot himself who [03:14] decides to take matters into his own [03:16] hands and Israel wants to be part of [03:18] that investigation now with the UAE and [03:20] with Saudi Arabia. How on earth it is [03:22] possible that an Omani pilot, Israel has [03:25] no diplomatic relations with Oman. Their [03:28] nationals are not meant to be flying [03:29] into Tel Aviv, was nearly able to hijack [03:32] a plane with 180 Israelis careering [03:35] towards Tel Aviv. [03:36] >> What do we know about the pilot other [03:37] than nationality? Any any sense of [03:40] allegiances or motive? [03:43] >> My colleague at Israel's Channel 16 [03:45] scooped that he was exhibiting some [03:48] unusually extreme religious behaviors. [03:50] His colleagues say that he joined the [03:52] airline recently, that he prayed [03:55] excessively multiple times a day, that [03:56] he wouldn't shake women's hands. [03:58] Obviously, um being a devout Muslim [04:01] doesn't mean uh that he was therefore a [04:03] terrorist, but it definitely helps to [04:05] connect uh definitely helps to suggest [04:07] that there was a religious jihadi [04:09] motivation here. And that is the leading [04:11] theory that Israel is working on. The [04:13] Saudis have the pilot in his custody. [04:16] they will want to uh investigate and the [04:18] Emirati as well I'm sure will be pushing [04:20] for a full investigation because this is [04:23] deeply embarrassing for them. Fly Dubai [04:25] is a governmentowned [04:28] airline. Dubai is considered one of the [04:30] world's most reliable and safest [04:32] transportation hubs. So to have a [04:35] foreign pilot able to hijack a plane [04:37] owned by the Emirati government and [04:39] carry out a potential uh 9/11 style [04:42] attack is extremely disturbing and [04:44] raises some very very disturbing [04:46] questions once we've sort of collected [04:48] ourselves from from the fact that a [04:50] major disaster was just avoided [04:51] >> indeed and that that really does not [04:53] overplay it by saying a 9/11 style [04:55] attack because that's exactly what this [04:57] would have been and what clearly it was [04:59] intended to be. Elon thank you for your [05:01] time this morning. Elon Levy, former [05:03] Israeli government spokesman with us on [05:05] the program. 0344991000. [05:08] Got a whole stack of comments coming in [05:10] from you. More of those on the way. [05:11] We'll also spoke to speak to Lord [05:12] Michael Grade, former chairman of the [05:14] BBC on the way with us next here on
Eylon Levy says the attempted hijacking of a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight came dangerously close to becoming a mass-casualty disaster, after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the pilot, seized control of the aircraft and attempted to crash it.
In this dramatic interview on TalkTV, former Israeli national spokesman Eylon Levy explains:
How passengers intervened after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the pilot and attempted to take control of the plane.
Why the incident raises serious questions about the security “choke point” of a pilot who decides to deliberately crash an aircraft.
What is known about the Omani co-pilot and why Israeli authorities are investigating a possible jihadist motive.
Why Israel wants to be involved in the investigation alongside Saudi and Emirati authorities.
Why the incident raises broader concerns about aviation security and the possibility of a 9/11-style attack.
The incident highlights a difficult challenge for the global aviation industry: even with extensive airport security measures, a threat can emerge from inside the cockpit itself. With 180 Israelis aboard a flight heading toward Tel Aviv, the intervention of the pilot and passengers prevented what Eylon describes as a potentially catastrophic outcome.
🎯 “We were very close to a mass casualty incident.”
