Passenger Plane Threats Through History: From Entebbe to Aviation's Biggest Mystery

Security efforts over decades to prevent terrorist attacks and sabotage on aircraft have consistently faced a central vulnerability: the flight crew itself. This issue has been highlighted by several major incidents, including the 2015 Germanwings crash, where the co-pilot intentionally crashed the plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 passengers and crew. This tragedy led to a rule change requiring a flight attendant to occupy the cockpit when a pilot leaves.

Another significant mystery is the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 people aboard. The plane and its passengers remain missing, with the leading theory suggesting a pilot's suicide due to personal crisis. In 1995, an Iranian flight attendant hijacked a domestic flight, intending to force a landing in Europe. The plane ran out of fuel and was permitted to land in Israel, where the passengers were released. The hijacker was sentenced to eight years in prison and later sought to convert to Judaism.

The 9/11 attacks, which involved hijackers with flight training, led to globally tightened security, including permanently locked cockpit doors. While intended to prevent hijackers from entering the cockpit, this measure can impede intervention if pilots themselves pose a threat. The article also references an incident where Israeli fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Flydubai plane that changed course and turned off its transponder, raising fears of a potential hijacking.

Historically, the Israeli Air Force shot down a Libyan passenger plane in 1972 that mistakenly entered Israeli airspace during a storm, resulting in 108 fatalities. Conversely, in 1955, an El Al flight accidentally entered Bulgarian airspace and was shot down by the Bulgarian Air Force, killing all 58 on board. Following the 1968 hijacking of an El Al plane to Algeria, which resulted in the release of 24 terrorists for the passengers, Israel established covert security on all its national airline flights. The 1972 Sabena Airlines hijacking, resolved by an IDF raid led by Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu, and the 1976 Entebbe rescue operation are also cited as significant events in aviation security history.