The suspected attempt to crash a flydubai passenger jet carrying more than 170 people has exposed the extraordinary procedures Israel has developed for dealing with a hijacked civilian aircraft — including, in the most extreme scenario, a decision by the prime minister to order the plane shot down before it can reach a populated Israeli target.
According to a Channel 12 report, the classified protocol has been practiced for more than two decades by the Israeli Air Force, Shin Bet and Mossad.
The protocol was activated Wednesday after the flydubai flight transmitted squawk code 7500 — the international signal indicating hijacking or unlawful interference aboard an aircraft — as Israeli authorities dealt with what they increasingly assessed as an attempt by one of the pilots to deliberately crash the plane.
Israeli fighter jets were scrambled, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held an urgent consultation.
According to Channel 12, Israel’s response can begin while a suspicious aircraft is still as far as 2,000 kilometers from the country.
An aircraft can draw attention because of a loss of communications, intelligence information or the transmission of a 7500 code. Air traffic controllers initially attempt to determine whether a technical malfunction can explain the irregular behavior.
If those efforts fail, fighter jets can be scrambled toward the passenger aircraft.
At that stage, the objective is not to shoot it down. Fighter pilots attempt to determine what is occurring aboard the aircraft, establish visual contact and communicate using internationally recognized signals and flight maneuvers.
The incident is managed from the Israeli Air Force’s command center at the Kirya in Tel Aviv.
If authorities determine that an actual hijacking is underway, the commander of the Israeli Air Force can order the relevant airspace closed.
Israeli forces would then attempt to divert the aircraft away from major population centers while intelligence agencies work to determine the hijackers’ intentions. A military negotiating team can also be activated.
The situation changes dramatically if authorities conclude that the hijackers do not intend to negotiate, but instead plan to use the passenger aircraft itself as a weapon.
At that point, the IDF chief of staff, Mossad director and Shin Bet chief become directly involved in managing the crisis.
The most extreme scenario is reportedly designated “Level 3.”
According to Channel 12, Level 3 is triggered when authorities believe there is a genuine danger that the aircraft will be deliberately crashed into a target inside Israel.
If attempts to force the plane to land or divert it fail and intelligence indicates an imminent attack, Israel’s political leadership faces an almost unimaginable decision: whether to destroy the civilian aircraft in mid-air to prevent it from reaching its intended target.
The final decision to order such an interception would generally be made by the prime minister.
Critically, the decision may have to be made before the aircraft even enters Israeli airspace.
Israel’s geography leaves authorities with little time to react once a hostile aircraft approaches the country, particularly because both Yerushalayim and the densely populated Tel Aviv metropolitan area are relatively close to Israel’s borders.
Wednesday’s flydubai emergency demonstrated how quickly such a scenario can develop.
What began as a commercial flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv rapidly became a national-security emergency, with fighter jets scrambled, Israel’s senior leadership holding emergency consultations and multiple intelligence agencies becoming involved.
B’chasdei Hashem, the nightmare scenario contemplated by the protocol never became necessary. The alleged attacker was subdued aboard the aircraft, and the plane ultimately landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
(YWN Israel Desk — Jerusalem)
One Response
So, some heretic Zionist would make the call whether or not to shoot down a plane full of possibly hundreds of Jews like this plane. Just one more small “perk” of having that Zionist “State”.