Attempted hijacking

90 seconds from disaster on Fly Dubai

Ret. Col. Oded Shapira, former El Al captain, says captain's quick thinking saved passengers from mass slaughter of Jews after attacker entered cockpit

Gila Isaacson

OCT 1, 2026 10:40

2 min read

A former El Al captain said Thursday morning that passengers on the Fly Dubai flight that was the target of an attempted hijacking this week experienced "a chain of open miracles," and that the captain's decision to open the cockpit door prevented what would have been "a mass slaughter of Jews."

Ret. Col. Oded Shapira, speaking on Galei Yisrael radio with Avi Ratzon, said the crew and passengers were helpless once the threat developed inside the cockpit itself. "When you have a hostile element inside the cockpit, you are powerless. There is nothing you can do against this," Shapira explained.

Shapira emphasized the critical importance of the captain's quick thinking in fighting off the attacker and managing to open the door, which allowed passengers and crew to overpower the assailant. "If he had not opened the door, we would be dealing with an insane incident," he said, adding that the aircraft was moments from catastrophe: "They were a minute and a half from continuing descent into the ground."

The veteran pilot has been credited with preventing what Shapira described as a certain disaster. "That brave captain opened the door. If he had not opened the door, we would be in a different event, we would be in an event of mass slaughter of Jews. I have no doubt," Shapira said.

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