The failed hijacking of flydubai by radicalised Islamist Omani pilot Hamam Al-Hammami has brought back dark memories of involvement of two Emirati pilots in crashing Flight UA 175 into south tower of World Trade Center on 9/11. This has resulted in Abu Dhabi taking over the terror investigation even though flight 1073 took off from Dubai for Tel Aviv.
While the hiring of Al Hammami by flyDubai after he was banned for his Islamist views by Oman Air is part of the investigation, the incident has come as a shock to UAE as President Mohammed bin Zayed is totally against religious fundamentalism and has even banned Muslim Brotherhood. The UAE runs a deradicalization program and Islamist views are taken to task by the Emirati intelligence.
Flight 1073 was saved from either crashing into the Saudi desert or perhaps at the Ben Gurion international airport or even Jerusalem if it had not been for the heroic efforts of Indian flight commander Captain Smit Machchar, who opened the cockpit door for intervention by passengers in spite of being stabbed by Al Hammami. With the Omani pilot managing to smuggle in a knife onboard the flight indicates larger conspiracy, the Indian pilot gave a message of zero tolerance and the Indian survivability to terror to the world.
The attempted hijacking on the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight could not have come at a worse time as UAE was trying to recover economically from the missile, drone and unmanned combat air systems attack by Iran for siding with the US and Israel in the on-going war. The UAE economy has taken a major hit in the Iran war with expats leaving Dubai in droves and denting the thriving hospitality industry.
Although the UAE and Saudi kingdoms are tight-lipped on results of the terror investigations, it is learnt that Israeli intelligence is also involved in unravelling the dastardly plot as the Omani radical was clearly radicalized over Israel’s war on Gaza and the larger Palestine issue. The Palestine issue has been weaponized by the Left-Islamist cabal in the west over the years and has been used as a tool to mount violence and protests in Europe and US as they feel the Arab street cant vent their anger due to authoritarian regimes in the Middle-East.
It is important for the Emirati and Israeli security agencies to unravel the entire plot and unearth the individuals or group or country behind this failed terror strike or people will fear flying from and via Middle-East airports or their airlines. Just like 9/11 changed the entire aviation security for passengers , flight 1073 will put the focus on pilots and the crew. Turbulent times ahead.
