Huckabee Compares Flydubai Hijacking Attempt to '9/11 Situation'

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has described the recent flydubai hijacking attempt as a "9/11 situation" and anticipates that airlines will implement more rigorous screening processes for their flight crews. Speaking on the podcast "Pod Force One," Huckabee questioned how the co-pilot accused of the attempted hijacking was hired.

"The question I think will be a tough one for everyone to answer: How did this guy get hired?" Huckabee stated regarding the flydubai co-pilot, who allegedly used an axe to attack the captain during a flight bound for Israel. "Now maybe they were just desperate for pilots, and they looked the other way at some of his background, or maybe they didn’t check."

The Omani national, Hamam al-Hammami, is reported to have researched potential attacks for months with an obsession for crashing a passenger jet on Israeli soil. The attempt was foiled when the captain, Smit Machchhar, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to subdue the assailant and regain control of the aircraft.

Huckabee suggested that enhanced security measures could become a global standard, extending beyond pilots to include flight attendants. "Not just for pilots flying into Israel, but I think every airline now is going to be looking at social media accounts. They’re going to be really wanting to know: Is there any red flag here?" he said. "Flight attendants, same thing... they have access to the cockpit."

He emphasized the potential catastrophe had the attack succeeded. "His goal was to fly it into the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport. That would have been catastrophic," Huckabee said. "It would have been such an incredible disaster had he been able to fly it into Ben Gurion, or for that matter, into downtown Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. Wherever he put that airplane, it would have been horrible."

According to reports, an Israeli plumber, Yaniv Hayoun, heroically took control of the aircraft after the assailant was subdued and managed to pull the plane out of a steep dive. Another pilot, described as Australian, then safely landed the plane. Huckabee praised Hayoun, noting the plumber's unlikely role in saving 174 lives. "They were probably 30 seconds from hitting the ground. That’s how close it was."