Former El Al pilot: "If the passenger had pulled the yoke too hard, the plane would have broken apart in the air"

Former El Al captain Alon Ferg analyzes the attempted attack on a Flydubai flight to Israel. According to him, four "miracles" prevented a disaster: the captain did not lose consciousness, the cockpit door opened, Israeli passengers fought the co-pilot, and additional pilots were among the passengers. Ferg warns that aggressive pulling of the controls could have caused the plane to break apart mid-air, and points to security failures.

Former El Al captain Alon Ferg, in an interview with the podcast "On the Agenda," analyzes the attempted attack on a Flydubai flight to Israel. According to him, four "miracles" occurred during the incident, preventing an unprecedented aviation disaster: the Indian captain did not lose consciousness after being struck with an axe by the Omani co-pilot; the cockpit door opened, preventing the co-pilot from isolating himself and crashing; four Israeli passengers struggled with the co-pilot; and additional pilots among the passengers took control and landed the plane. Ferg analyzes the moment of the dive and warns that aggressive pulling of the controls at high speed could have caused stresses beyond the structural limits of the Boeing 737, even leading to disintegration in the air. He notes that the plane exceeded load limits but did not break apart, and managed to fly for over an hour until landing. Alongside this, Ferg points to security failures: Flydubai's decision to assign a pilot not authorized to enter Israel, and a lapse in the Israeli screening system. According to him, "Someone here fell asleep on the job."

Former El Al pilot: "If the passenger had pulled the yoke too hard, the plane would have broken apart in the air"