EgyptAir Pilot Posts El Al Jet Video On October 7—Urges “Violence For Violence”

An EgyptAir pilot took video of an El Al plane and paired it with a recording of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat declaring, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and violence for violence.” He posted it on October 7th. And it’s drawing attention just days after a flydubai copilot attacked his captain and reportedly tried to turn a Dubai – Tel Aviv flight into a 9/11-style missile attack on Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. Kan military correspondent Itay Blumental identifies the pilot as Osama Mansour. The original Instagram reel is on the account @osapilot. Its caption tags EgyptAir and says the footage comes from an airport in Italy. Text over the video translates roughly as “A surprise entrance disrupts the course of events,” alongside a smiling face, an Egyptian flag and a flexed biceps emoji. Itay Blumental’s report and the video This isn’t just a commemoration of October 7. October 6 marks Egypt’s 1973 war with Israel under Sadat (who later signed their peace treaty with Israel in 1979). As I covered on September 30, passengers and additional pilots aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 helped save the aircraft after the copilot attacked the captain. Subsequent reporting said he’d intended to crash into the terminal at Tel Aviv’s airport and had previously been removed from flying duties at Oman Air over extremist material. Flydubai aircraft photographed on an earlier trip. The copilot’s LinkedIn account carried a video of El Al aircraft and ended with images of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and a suicide bomber about nine hours after the attack (it’s unclear whether it had been scheduled in advance or posted by someone else on his behalf). I’ve also been covering United pilot Ibrahim Mossallam, who described the October 7 massacre as “resistance by brave people.” United initially removed him from service in 2023, then stopped answering questions about his status. This week I covered reports that he’d returned to flying and that two colleagues gave up first class seats to monitor him from the cockpit. United then “withheld [him] from service pending an ongoing review” and denies reports that he’s already back in the cockpit. EgyptAir, of course, is a Star Alliance member and United Airlines partner. While Egypt pays lip service to the Palestinian cause, they also keep them contained in Gaza by blocking the Rafah crossing. At the same time, they’ve hosted members of Hamas at a Cairo Marriott resort and they’re home to the Muslim Brotherhood, which remains both banned and popular. Ultimately, pilots who praise terrorist attacks on civilians, and cheer the destruction of passenger flights, do not belong anywhere near a cockpit. Topics on this page