U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee expects airlines to step up screening of pilots and flight attendants in response to the flydubai hijacking, which he described as “9/11” on the latest episode of “Pod Force One.”
“I think it’s a difficult question for everyone to answer: How did this person get hired?” Huckabee said last month a flydubai co-pilot tried to hijack a flight to Israel and was accused of stabbing the captain with an ax.
“Now maybe they just desperately needed the pilot and they turned a blind eye to some of his background, or maybe they didn’t check. But the answer to your question is: Will this change the approach to safety? Oh my gosh, will it!” the former Arkansas governor told “Pod Force One” host Miranda Devine.
Co-pilot Omani Hamam al-Hammami was reportedly obsessed with crashing a passenger plane over Israeli territory and researched a potential attack for months before failing, this time as the injured captain Smit Macchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to rush in as the madman rushed inside.
Huckabee suggested that enhanced prevention measures may be implemented globally.
“Not just pilots flying to Israel, I think every airline now looks at social media accounts. They really want to know: Are there red flags here?” he said.
“The same goes for flight attendants,” the diplomat continued, “because if you have flight attendants, flight attendants can wreak havoc. They can get into the cockpit.”
“It’s just one of those amazing things,” he said of the thwarted terrorist attack. “We don’t know absolute confirmation, but he told some investigators that his goal was to fly it into the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport.
“That would be catastrophic.”
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Huckabee said if the attack was successful, it would be “9/11.”
“[I]”If he was able to fly a plane into Ben Gurion, or into downtown Tel Aviv or into Jerusalem, that would be an incredible disaster,” he continued. “Wherever he puts that plane, it would be horrific.”
After the terrorists were subdued, Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun heroically took control of the plane and successfully pulled it out of a steep dive – despite having no experience flying aircraft. Huckabee said the other pilot on the flight was Australian and landed the plane safely.
“He’s the sweetest, most humble guy — I think he’s just blown away by all the attention,” Huckabee said of Hayoun. “I mean, here’s a guy, he’s a plumber. He’s used to going out and fixing pipes, and all of a sudden he’s saving 174 lives.”
“They were probably 30 seconds away from hitting the ground. It was that close.”