Flydubai Flight Incident Should Be Investigated as Major Attack

The article praises the bravery of the flight crew and passengers, including Captain Smith Machar, Yeniv Hiyun, Zvika and Tali Mans, Assaf Raguan, and Dr. Shota Musayev, who allegedly showed resourcefulness and regained control of the plane as it began to dive over Saudi Arabia.

The piece highlights a "unfathomable security lapse" concerning the co-pilot, identified as 29-year-old Mamam Al-Hamami, who allegedly holds extreme jihadist views. Al-Hamami was reportedly fired from Oman Air last year due to his radical ideology and religious extremism. He joined Flydubai as a co-pilot in January 2026, after seven years with Oman Air, and had apparently flown to Israel previously, contrary to agreements between Israel and Abu Dhabi that stipulate only crews from countries with relations with Israel can serve on UAE airline flights.

Further raising concerns, Al-Hamami had posted videos featuring El Al and Arkia planes in Dubai, ending with a picture of Ayman al-Zawahiri, and images of a suicide bomber. He also allegedly posted misogynistic content. The article questions how he became an airline pilot, especially for a flight to Israel, a country with stringent security measures.

The author argues that the incident should be treated as if the plane had been hijacked and crashed, resulting in a devastating loss of life. In any "normal country," the Prime Minister would immediately announce the formation of an urgent state commission of inquiry to examine all responsible parties, including the Minister of Transportation, airport authority managers, the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the National Security Council. The article criticizes the focus on celebrating the heroic passengers as "photogenic" rather than addressing the security failures, comparing it to the "biggest failure in the country's history on October 7th."