Israeli Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, on Thursday said fighter jets were scrambled after emergency signals were received from a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight that was allegedly targeted by its co-pilot, but they did not have to intervene as the aircraft landed safely.
Azar said the incident prompted an immediate alert among Israel’s civil aviation authorities, air force and political leadership, news agency PTI reported.
Machchhar foiled his co-pilot’s attempt to crash the flydubai flight bound for Israel. His actions have drawn appreciation from several quarters, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Israel is very small nation and a jet can penetrate very fast, such that it crash on a building, on civilians or on an installation in the country within seconds, according to him. “And therefore, both are civil aviation authorities, our air force and even our political echelons had been immediately called to alert,” the envoy said. He said Israeli authorities had “assessed the situation” and were prepared for further action if the pilot, crew members and passengers had not been able to regain control of the aircraft. They had “assessed the situation”, and if the pilot and the crew members and the passengers wouldn’t have taken control of the plane, there could have been a situation in which the Prime Minister of Israel may have had to make a decision on the action to be taken, he said, without elaborating. “Of course, immediately fighter jets were called into the air and fortunately, they didn’t have to take action,” Azar said.
