Israel Probes Foreign Pilots With Dual Citizenship After Near-Crash Incident
Israel is investigating foreign pilots with dual citizenship from enemy states following a thwarted hijacking attempt by a radicalized pilot who previously landed at Ben Gurion Airport.
Security Review Launched After Pilot Plot
Security agencies are investigating whether foreign pilots holding dual citizenship with enemy states landed at Ben Gurion Airport in recent years. The probe follows an incident involving pilot Mam al-Mamami, who reportedly attempted to crash an aircraft carrying 174 Israeli passengers. Al-Mamami had visited Israel prior to the flight and landed at Ben Gurion Airport a week before the incident.
Israeli authorities have not yet been granted permission to interrogate the pilot, currently relying on reports from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The defense establishment is racing against time to identify other potential threats among foreign airline crews. Investigations revealed critical oversights, including a lack of independent intelligence tracking by agencies like the Mossad and the Shin Bet regarding foreign flight crews.
Intelligence and Oversight Failures
Authorities admitted that no Israeli body was aware that Oman had grounded the pilot following his radicalization. The Ministry of Transportation relied entirely on background checks provided by foreign airlines rather than conducting direct oversight. Furthermore, open-source intelligence indicated that the pilot had photographed El Al and Arkia aircraft in Dubai and shared pro-Al-Qaeda content online.
I flew sideways, down onto the floor. I tried to get up, my whole body was sucked down. I feel like all my organs are being pulled to the floor, there's no way to move. — Yaniv Hayun, passenger
Earlier, Yaniv Hayun, one of the Israeli passengers who helped foil the hijacking, described the terrifying moments during the steep dive and the struggle to reach the cockpit after an Israeli passenger sounded the alarm.
