A lesson for intelligence from FlyDubai Flight 1073
by Daniel N. Hoffman · The Washington TimesOPINION:
On Sept. 30, Indian pilot Smit Machchhar and courageous passengers rescued FlyDubai Flight 1073 from a terrorist hijacking.
Somehow, even after having reportedly been struck with the cockpit crash ax, Captain Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door. An alert mother heard the attack while she was accompanying her daughter to the lavatory. Passengers then stormed the cockpit and subdued the Omani co-pilot.
Passenger Yaniv Hayun, a plumber by trade, leveled out the plane before two deadheading pilots landed the plane safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
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All these lifesaving maneuvers took place while the aircraft plummeted more than 14,000 feet in less than a minute.
FlyDubai Flight 1073 was eerily reminiscent of United Flight 93, whose passengers and crew on 9/11 fought back against four al Qaeda terrorists who had hijacked and planned to crash the plane, most likely into the U.S. Capitol or the White House.
In both cases, passengers and crew were totally unprepared for the critically desperate situation that confronted them. Still, they acted immediately, decisively and with alacrity and courage. It is a miracle for which we should all be grateful.
Intelligence agencies, in close coordination with law enforcement, are responsible for detecting and preempting threats before innocent civilians are placed in harm’s way. Many questions remain about the FlyDubai flight, but we know one thing for sure: This hijacking was a monumental intelligence failure.
While we celebrate the bravery and skill of the flight’s heroes — who came to the rescue just in time to prevent a horrific tragedy — the governments of Israel and the United Arab Emirates are conducting a comprehensive investigation.
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It will likely shape the future of regional counterterrorism planning.
The Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, is at the center of our immediate interest. He had allegedly been hired only eight months earlier and should not have been allowed to fly to Israel. Israel and Oman do not have diplomatic relations.
Mr. al-Hammami reportedly had a long history of extremist social media postings and had been banned from flying in Oman. According to Israeli law passed in 2023, FlyDubai should have sent Israel a passenger manifest, including the names of the pilots, 48 hours before takeoff, presumably enough time for Israeli security to vet everyone on the flight and take appropriate defensive measures.
Uncloaking the man’s motivation and understanding where Israel, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and FlyDubai missed opportunities to thwart the hijacking certainly has value — but there will be a “next time,” and we can be sure those terrorists will have learned from this incident.
The FlyDubai Flight 1073 incident should also call to mind two failed al Qaeda terrorist attacks. In 1993, Ramzi Yousef, a nephew of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, tried to blow up the World Trade Center’s North Tower with a massive van bomb. In 1995, the Philippine National Police discovered Ramzi Yousef’s Bojinka plot to blow up 11 airliners and crash another into the CIA headquarters after a chemical fire in his Manila apartment drew their attention.
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Having successfully disrupted some but not all of al Qaeda’s attacks during the 1990s, the Clinton administration never appeared to understand the urgency of taking the fight to the enemy. This should have included sufficient intelligence collection and kinetic operations to degrade or destroy al Qaeda’s capacity, leadership and operational planning.
We also failed at the time to incorporate basic defensive measures, such as building out a cadre of trained air marshals.
Yet the World Trade Center continued to be in al Qaeda’s crosshairs. That is why the Trump administration should take this opportunity to provide the leadership necessary to enhance counterterrorism cooperation among Israel and the Gulf states, which have in common a desire to ensure safe travel and robust trade.
Middle East intelligence services must ensure that they are effectively collecting, analyzing and sharing their analysis. They should support one another’s countermeasures designed to preempt terrorist attacks by relentlessly targeting terrorist networks, financing and leadership. Intelligence collection and sharing happen in the shadows, usually insulated from public scrutiny. This should allow Gulf states to partner closely with Israel.
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The next attack could target civil aviation, but perhaps with a different method of delivery, such as cyberhacking, artificial intelligence or land-based missiles and drones. FlyDubai Flight 1073 should be remembered not only for the valor of its captain and passengers, but also as an admonition to governments: Do everything possible to protect your citizens. Terrorists often return to the scene of their crimes when plots are foiled.
• Daniel N. Hoffman is a retired clandestine services officer and former chief of station with the Central Intelligence Agency. His combined 30 years of government service included high-level overseas and domestic positions at the CIA. He has been a Fox News contributor since May 2018. He can be reached at danielhoffman@yahoo.com. All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or endorsement of the CIA or any other U.S. government agency.
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