Prime Minister Olmert's cabinet has approved a new aviation system to foil hijackings in order to prevent another 9/11 tragedy.As of 2008 all aircraft arriving into Israel must be equipped with a Code Positive system which will allow Controllers on the ground to determine if a plane has been hijacked. The Transportation ministry will distribute a personalized ID card to all pilots flying into Israel.
Should hijackers kill or injure a flight crew, their transmission code will alert Controllers that something aboard is not right. If a Pilot encounters any threats while in-flight they have the option of entering false data which will serve as a discreet mayday message. When Code Positive was introduced this year it was determined that one can not bluff the system.
Israel Air Force (IAF) is Ordered to force a Pilot to land at a location far from populated areas. Just a few months ago, IAF Pilots were scrambled and were prepared to shoot down a non-responsive Continental Airlines Passenger Jet from Newark, NJ which had failed to make contact with the Ben-Gurion Airport as it approached Israel airspace with 273 passengers. The IAF forced the Pilots to change course at which time the Pilot got back in touch with Controllers, the plane landed safely.
The main threat to passenger jets are shoulder fired missiles which there is an abundant supply all over the world and easy to use. Flight Guard which cost $1 Million Dollars per unit to install allows a pilot to release flares in the event of a potential attack on a jet. The United States required Israel to disable the system on jets flying into the U.S. fearing an unacceptable fire risk. Today Israel aircraft have been equipped with lasers to disrupt the flight path of incoming missiles fired on an aircraft.
