Israel was prepared to shoot down flydubai Flight FZ1073 if the aircraft had continued toward Israeli airspace during last week’s attempted hijacking, according to new reporting that reveals the extraordinary military response unfolding on the ground as passengers and crew fought to regain control of the aircraft.
Two Israeli sources with direct knowledge of the response told CBS News that Israeli authorities activated procedures designed for a potential Sept. 11-style airborne attack after FZ1073 abruptly plunged thousands of feet and the Israeli Air Force was unable to establish contact with the cockpit.
Israeli fighter aircraft were scrambled, the country’s airspace was closed and a command center was activated as officials attempted to determine what was happening aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight. The aircraft was carrying 174 passengers, most of them Israelis.
The emergency followed an attack inside the cockpit in which first officer Hamam al-Hammami allegedly struck Captain Smit Machchhar with the aircraft’s emergency crash axe and attempted to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX 8. The United Arab Emirates has since officially characterized the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.
Public flight-tracking data showed the aircraft entering an extraordinary descent. It subsequently transmitted transponder code 7500, the internationally recognized signal for unlawful interference with an aircraft.
According to CBS News, the Israeli Air Force attempted to contact FZ1073 but received no response. Fighters were scrambled within minutes. At the time, however, the aircraft remained several hundred miles from Israeli airspace.
Had FZ1073 continued toward Israel and reached a predetermined distance, Israeli fighters would have moved into Jordanian airspace to intercept the aircraft, according to the CBS sources. The fighter pilots would first have attempted to establish visual contact with the cockpit and inspect the cabin for indications of what was occurring aboard.
If authorities concluded that the aircraft had been hijacked, remained unresponsive and presented a threat to Israel, the country’s emergency protocol could ultimately have resulted in an order to destroy the aircraft before it reached a potential target. Such a decision could only have been made by the Israeli prime minister, according to CBS.
The sources said officials had to contemplate the possibility that the aircraft could be used against Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv’s Azrieli towers or another high-value target.
The situation never reached that point.
Despite being seriously wounded, Machchhar managed to release the locked cockpit door, enabling passengers and flydubai personnel to enter the flight deck and overpower the first officer. Reserve flydubai pilots traveling aboard FZ1073 subsequently regained control of the aircraft.
At roughly the same time, the aircraft turned away from Israel toward Saudi Arabia. Israeli fighters were recalled after authorities determined that FZ1073 was diverting to Saudi territory and Saudi Arabia had scrambled its own fighter aircraft.
FZ1073 subsequently made an emergency landing at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All passengers survived.
The disclosure highlights the wider consequences of the cockpit attack. While passengers and crew aboard FZ1073 were attempting to save the aircraft, Israeli authorities on the ground were simultaneously confronting the possibility that the passenger jet had become a weapon.
The episode also illustrates the difficult decisions governments face when responding to an apparently hijacked commercial aircraft. In the case of FZ1073, the aircraft’s change of course toward Saudi Arabia and the successful intervention aboard the aircraft prevented Israeli authorities from having to make the ultimate decision over whether to use military force against an airliner carrying its own citizens.