I’m sure everyone has heard about this, but as nothing has been posted, I thought I’d provide this take. It’s a great analysis, and the writing is chef’s kiss.

Today, somewhere over Saudi Arabia, the co-pilot of an Israel-bound Flydubai Boeing 737 stabbed the other pilot and pitched the nose of the plane toward the desert below. The jet descended 17,000 feet in two minutes, at an acceleration violent enough to make your phone and in-flight snack jump off your tray and be pinned to the ceiling. Other crew members and at least one Israeli passenger broke into the cockpit and subdued the assailant. Relief pilots then took over and landed the plane in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. After a second Flydubai plane took the 174 passengers to Tel Aviv, one of the passengers who’d stormed the cockpit told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his actions had been effective in part because he had watched the disaster-porn documentary series Mayday, about aviation catastrophes, and had known to pull back on the yoke.

Whether today’s near-disaster was terrorism or merely attempted mass murder depends on the attacker’s motive. Either way, it is a public-relations catastrophe for Flydubai, the budget cousin of the airline Emirates. Since the United Arab Emirates opened diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020, the airline has connected the two countries with few interruptions, even for acts of war and terror. Keeping that air route open and safe has taken a great deal of effort. Last year, I witnessed clever security engineering at Dubai’s Terminal 1: placement of the check-in desk for El Al, the Israeli carrier, adjacent to the desk for Iran’s Mahan Air. Anyone tempted to attack Israeli passengers would hit Iranian ones, and vice versa. Checked baggage costs extra, but the experience of being a human shield while waiting in line is complimentary.