At Town Hall I discuss a hypothetical: What if the Malaysian airliner’s disappearance really were a jihad operation? Are there any safeguards in place that would keep such an action from happening here?
Could anything prevent an American plane suffering the same mysterious fate as Malaysian Airlines flight MH370?
Exactly what happened to flight MH370 is still unknown. Investigators and terror experts now believe the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, was solely responsible for the downing of the flight, and did so deliberately as a suicide mission.
A friend of Captain Zaharie said, according to the New Zealand Herald, that Zaharie was “in no state of mind to be flying a Boeing 777,” as he “had personal issues; having recently separated from his wife – whom he had children with. It is thought his relationship with another woman was also on the rocks.” The friend said that Zaharie’s “world was crumbling and felt the captain had taken MH370 on a ‘last joyride.’”
While it is remotely possible that this was all there was to it, Captain Zaharie is by no means the first or only pilot to take the helm while his world is crumbling or he is distraught over a failing marriage; yet few have taken their planes on a “last joyride.”
What is more likely, albeit not conclusive, is that Captain Zaharie, who apparently reprogrammed the flight himself in order to take it hundreds of miles off course, was on a jihad mission related to his “fanatical” support for Malaysian opposition politician Anwar Ibrahim, who has recently been jailed on sex charges that his supporters say are trumped-up. The spiritual guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has praised Hitler and prayed that Allah would exterminate all the Jews, has endorsed Ibrahim for Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Anwar Ibrahim is a founder of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), which was named in a captured internal Muslim Brotherhood document as one of the Brotherhood’s “organizations of our friends” dedicated to “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house.” He has also served as a trustee for the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), another Brotherhood organization.
None of this proves that Captain Zaharie was on a jihad-martyrdom suicide mission, but the possibility cannot be ruled out – as even Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel acknowledged Wednesday. And in light of recent warnings from the Department of Homeland Security about renewed jihad terror plots against airplanes, it is useful to ask if there are any safeguards in place to prevent such a plane takeover from happening in the U.S.
Imagine a pilot for a U.S. air carrier who was a “fanatical” follower of a political leader with extensive connections to a group dedicated to “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within.” There could actually be such pilots flying commercial planes in the U.S. today, since there is absolutely nothing in place that would prevent it. As I detail in my new book Arab Winter Comes to America: The Truth About the War We’re In, counter-terror measures have been overwhelmed by a politically correct delicacy that places the fear of offending Muslims over the fear of mass murder, such that government, law enforcement and private businesses are today woefully unequipped – often by their own choice – to deal adequately with the threat of Islamic jihad.
As I detail in the book, the Obama Administration, under pressure from Islamic groups, many of which were tied to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2010 and 2011 mandated the removal from all counter-terror training materials of all mention of Islam and jihad in connection with terrorism.
In a sane society, a pilot who had allegiances such as those of Zaharie Ahmad Shah would be carefully scrutinized, and would not have had the freedom Zaharie apparently had to reprogram the direction of his flight, as well as to commandeer it under the nose of a stunned world. But as Arab Winter Comes to America shows, the premium is on political correctness, even above protecting airline passengers from suicidal ideologues. Consequently, not only has Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 apparently gone down, but there are almost certain to be many more tragedies like it in our future.
Alec Bursop says
The simple truth about this is that nobody knows yet exactly what happened.
It could have been a malfunction in the aircraft itself. It could have been pilot error, or a bomb. It could have been freak weather conditions, or some sort of terrorist hijack attack.
What amazes me about all this is that the aircraft does not appear to have been kept under somebody’s electronic surveillance all the time it was in the air.
Surely, if it had been maybe they would have been able to triangulate it’s exact position when it went down.
As to whether this could happen in this country, well there is always the risk that something can go wrong in any flight, but the extent of British and European aircraft surveillance is extensive, so it is very unlikely that we would ever lose track of one whilst within our airspace.
On the long haul flights we depend very much on what other nations have put in place, and how reliable their own airspace control is.
Having said this, there are certain ‘dead’ areas beyond the reach of some radar systems and who knows, this aircraft may well have gone down in one of them?
This raises the issue as to whether all aircraft should be fitted with EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons), which are usually automatic (floating) radio beacons designed to detach when something like a vessel sinks, These could easily be fitted to all aircraft in addition to Black Boxes which usually sink when an aircraft is fully submerged. The signals from EPIRB’s are monitored worldwide 24/7 and the location of the distress is detected by non-geostationary satellites, and can be located by a combination of GPS trilateration and Doppler triangulation.
mortimer says
Pilot error? In such an experienced pilot ? A pilot who trained on a home simulator?
I don’t believe Capt Zaharie was unaware of his position…for even one minute. Pilots like him would know where they were at all times if only by looking at the stars. After all, most pilots want to land.
There was no error in this. Perhaps a conspiracy gone wrong.
veggiedog says
What, pilot error? Only if you call the act of murder a pilot error.
Anushirvan says
“As to whether this could happen in this country, well there is always the risk that something can go wrong in any flight” Which is fine if you are merely talking about accidents.
Accidents tend to happen once in a while, proportionally the amount of those happening at any one instance seems rather limited, all things considered. When a plane however is taken over by individuals with an ideological intent to kill as many people in one fell swoop, such instances may (and probably will) disproportionately grow, to the point where they systematically overtake the limited amount of mere airplane accidents. Thus, no one can feel safe in the long run. That’s what we’re facing now.
In other words:
1) the very intent to kill will increase these instances, mere accidents may turn out to be rare in the long run comparatively, whilst the terrorist downing of airplanes may increase. Talking about accidents in this case is a load of waffle to divert attention away from this realization !
2) the danger simply increases with the realization that we can’t read the mind of any individual who intends to do such a thing.
3) such instances are more likely to happen when a pilot is a Muslim !
And then you have to wonder how many of those Muslim pilots actually lean towards a Jihadi intent to make a point by proving their worth to Allah, their Lord ?
And the damning truth is, no one’s to know at this stage !!! Being able to track a plane from start to finish isn’t going to make a damn bit of difference, either !
Michael Copeland says
The pilot’s armored door is unlockable ONLY FROM THE INSIDE. This precaution was put in against hi-jackers. If a pilot, behind his locked door, is a devout muslim, and decides to go jihad, to “kill and be killed” in the path of Allah as a certainty of paradise, there is NOTHING anyone can do.
Defcon 4 says
@Michael Copeland
What a disturbing thought.
Next time I fly, I’m finding out the name of the pilot. If that’s
not possible I’ll tell them to take their airline ticket and shove
it where the sun don’t shine.
JIMJFOX says
Wreckage of MH370 positively located in Indian Ocean. What happened to the co-pilot? Was he ‘in on’ the suicide flight or did the captain deal with him prior to going off course?
Never, EVER trust a Muslim. Boycott their airlines. Avoid them all.
citycat says
Boycott everyting Islamic is a good idea, actually, now, thinking about it, yeah.
MARY says
I’ve felt safe from this kind of thing, since there are always a lot of Muslims on the flights I’m on. Figured no jihadist would slaughter fellow Muslims (both Sunni and Shi’ite) randomly. Not true. If this was indeed a suicide or a jihad event, Muslim lives are in as much danger as the rest of ours. Flying with a bunch of Muslims is no protection. Scary.
Anushirvan says
Nobody should be surprised. That is, no one who knows about the history of intra-Muslim enmity throughout the ages. Get real, it seems to me like you have been seriously lagging behind up until now, you have some serious catching up to do. You can’t live in denial for ever, shielding yourself from the awful truth will cost civilized societies dearly.
And as for Muslims, I couldn’t give a monkeys if they kill each other, anyway. And neither should anyone else !
RG says
To ‘MARY’ – Here’s a thought. People who have a blood lust usually aren’t too particular about who they “decapitate”. Maybe slightly graphic, but if I were you I wouldn’t place too much faith in the fact that you happen to travel surrounded by muslims. That sure wouldn’t give me any reassurance at all. To tell you the truth, that would totally freak me out beyond all description.
Remember it only takes one half-whit muslim who takes the sayings of mohammed seriously, to fly an airliner into a New York skyscraper. Hmmm!!!
gravenimage says
MARY wrote:
I’ve felt safe from this kind of thing, since there are always a lot of Muslims on the flights I’m on. Figured no jihadist would slaughter fellow Muslims (both Sunni and Shi’ite) randomly.
………………………..
Mary, Jihadists slaughter their fellow Muslims *all the time*—just note how common Jihad attacks are in Dar-al-Islam. Flying with large numbers of Muslim passengers is, to put it mildly, *hardly* a safeguard.
Jack Diamond says
Pilot suicide/homicide still makes the most sense, if there was not a catastrophic event on board. I can’t find statistics on how many Muslim pilots fly American airliners but nothing prevents it and the odds are on the side of pilot-jihad happening in our future, because nothing prevents it.
For the record, there was one claim of responsibility for Flight 370, though it was discounted because no one had heard the group–the “Chinese Martyrs’ Brigade”.
“A shadowy group called the Chinese Martyrs’ Brigade has claimed responsibility for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 — but officials were skeptical and said the claim could be a hoax.
The group — unheard of before now — on Sunday sent an email to journalists across China that read: “You kill one of our clan, we will kill 100 of you as pay back,” but the message provided no details of what brought the flight down.
And Malaysia’s acting transport minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, told reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday he doubted the claim’s legitimacy.
“There is no sound or credible grounds to justify their claims,” he said, according to Malaysian news reports.
Other officials said the claim could be a hoax aimed at increasing ethnic tensions between Uighurs and Han Chinese in the wake of the recent knife attack in the southwestern city of Kunming on March 1 that left 29 people dead and injured about 140 others.
The message was delivered through an anonymous, encrypted Hushmail service that is virtually impossible to trace, they said.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/obscure-group-northwestern-china-chinese-martyrs-brigade-claims-responsibility-missing-malaysia
“On February 24, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIP), also known as the Turkestan Islamic Party, released a video of one of its clerics threatening attacks on Chinese Buddhists. The group is linkedto Al-Qaeda and wants China’s largely-Muslim Xinjiang Province to gain independence. The Turkic population there is called Uighurs.
On March 1, seven days before the Flight 370 disappearance, a vicious knife attack took place that killed 29 Chinese civilians. ETIP is almost certainly the culprit.
On March 3, China Airlines issued an alert about a “significant risk of terrorist attacks and military actions against aviation.”
On March 4, the China Airlines branch in Taiwan receives an anonymous phone call in French. He says he tried to call the Beijing airport but did not get through. The caller claims to be part of a counter-terrorism group but speaks in his native Chinese when he isn’t understood. He says that Beijing’s airport and subway system will soon come under attack.
On March 8, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappears. The majority of the passengers are Chinese.
On March 9, a previously-unknown group called the Chinese Martyrs’ Brigade claims credit. Although Islamist terrorist groups sometimes use different names, the statement includes no supporting details to lend it credibility. The separatists also do not usually refer to themselves as being Chinese.
On March 13, it was reported that a 35-year old Chinese Uighur passenger with flight simulation training is being looked into as a possible suspect.
http://counterjihadreport.com/2014/03/14/missing-malaysian-flight-370-five-theories/
Mazo says
The Uyghur Maimaitijiang Abula was a Communist Party member and he was in Malaysia on Chinese government business, as part of a delegation of artists.
http://www.gpb.org/news/2014/03/15/the-passengers-on-malaysia-airlines-flight-370
Jack Diamond says
It does seem Abula’s background was initially misreported and confused with someone else.
Not to worry, a “substantial figure” in Malaysia has brought in psychic Uri Gellar to find the airplane through the technique of “remote viewing.”
Joe P. says
I don’t know how active the US Federal Air Marshal service has been lately, but after 9/11, it was announced that they would be doing more to prevent hijackings. I imagine that one or more of the “passengers” on many to most US airline flights is an undercover Air Marshal. We’ve heard of several flights where “fellow passengers” immediately jumped on and subdued likely terrorism suspects. I wonder if those fellow passengers may have been Air Marshals.
It’s not difficult to turn an airplane without the passengers noticing, if there are no outside visual references, as could be the case over the ocean at night, with clouds above, and most of the passengers asleep.
Other than pilots, Air Marshals and hijackers, nobody thinks they may have to take over flying the plane, but if you’re going to be on one of those flights and want to prepare yourself for the possibility, there are some items you can take along – a pocket compass (or cell phone with compass app) an altimeter watch, and a couple extra pairs of heavy shoelaces. Hopefully, you would not need to use the shoelaces. A GPS unit or cell app may not be reliable on board an aircraft, due to the metal skin’s ability to block signals.
Cabin altitude normally won’t exceed something like 8,000 feet, so if you see it climbing to 10,000 feet or more, it’s time to ask a flight attendant what’s going on. If the cabin altitude then continues climbing instead of quickly dropping, and the plane does not appear to be quickly descending, you may have to decide very quickly whether or not you are going to storm the cockpit. That would be a last ditch effort, and would likely be impossible without help. The cockpit crew would have to be disabled and tied up. If it appears that the autopilot is causing the aircraft to climb, it would have to be disengaged right away, then the nose pointed down and the throttles pulled back and kept there until a safe altitude is reached. Good luck with the rest. It could be easier than you think, or more difficult.
Remember that if an Air Marshall is on board, he/she will probably be better prepared to deal with the situation than you are.
Note that storming an aircraft cockpit is something that you would be doing on your own volition. I am not suggesting that you should do it. I’m not a licensed pilot, and could have made errors in this post. Hopefully, this disclaimer will keep the feds off my tail.
Tee 'n' the Wildlife says
Just a thought: should air marshalls be flight trained as well? Or are they?