Comptroller Report Warned of Security Lapses Before Flydubai Attack
Translated & summarized from Zman Yisrael by baba
A State Comptroller report from May 2024 warned of systemic failures in Israel's international aviation security, specifically regarding coordination between agencies and oversight of foreign flights. These warnings proved prescient when on September 30th, a co-pilot from Oman attacked the captain on a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, an incident that could have been prevented if regulations barring pilots from non-diplomatic countries were enforced. Investigations revealed approximately 1,200 pilots from such nations have flown to Israel, highlighting a significant, ongoing security lapse that falls between the responsibilities of the Ministry of Transport and the Shin Bet.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- A May 2024 State Comptroller report warned of systemic failures in Israel's international aviation security.
- On September 30th, a Flydubai co-pilot from Oman attacked the captain on a flight to Tel Aviv.
- Israeli regulations prohibit pilots from countries without diplomatic ties from flying to Israel.
- Approximately 1,200 pilots from countries without ties to Israel have flown into the country.
- Responsibility for enforcing security on foreign flights falls into a gap between the Ministry of Transport and the Shin Bet.
- The attack was prevented by passengers and the captain's actions, with several injuries reported.
A State Comptroller report published in May 2024 revealed systemic failures in Israel's management of international aviation security, particularly concerning incoming and outgoing flights. The audit, conducted before the 'Swords of Iron' war, examined the operations of the Ministry of Transport, the Shin Bet, the Airports Authority, and the National Security Council, among other security bodies. The comptroller urged the National Security Council to conduct a comprehensive review of responsibility allocation, resource deployment, and overall aviation security strategy.
The report highlighted concerns about coordination gaps between security agencies and a lack of a designated body responsible for foreign flights. These issues became tragically apparent in the September 30th attack on a Flydubai flight from the UAE to Tel Aviv, where the co-pilot, identified as 29-year-old Omani citizen Hammam Al-Hamami, assaulted the captain, Sumit Machchar, causing the plane to rapidly lose altitude. Israeli passengers intervened, subduing the attacker, and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia, though several individuals sustained injuries.
Al-Hamami, who had previously been suspended from pilot training by Oman Air due to extremist Islamist material, was later cleared to fly commercially for Flydubai. This incident underscored a critical security lapse, as Israeli regulations prohibit pilots from countries without diplomatic ties to Israel, such as Oman, from operating flights to the country. It was revealed in a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting that approximately 1,200 pilots from such countries have flown to Israel, including individuals from Syria and Lebanon, indicating a widespread failure to enforce this regulation.
The Ministry of Transport's Security, Emergency, and Cyber Department is responsible for vetting foreign flights and aviation professionals. While the Shin Bet is primarily responsible for security on Israeli airlines, it also plays a role in developing and refining security procedures for foreign carriers. However, the article states that responsibility for enforcing these procedures on foreign airlines falls into a gap between agencies, with neither the Ministry of Transport nor the Shin Bet taking direct ownership, a situation the State Comptroller had warned about in 2024. The National Security Council was tasked with creating mechanisms to prevent such attacks, but it appears little significant progress has been made, leaving citizens to defend themselves, as they did on the Flydubai flight.
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