diff --git a/usr.sbin/fdcontrol/fdcontrol.c b/usr.sbin/fdcontrol/fdcontrol.c
index 559ce020891e..f1a923393d76 100644
--- a/usr.sbin/fdcontrol/fdcontrol.c
+++ b/usr.sbin/fdcontrol/fdcontrol.c
@@ -120,7 +120,6 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		mode = O_RDONLY | O_NONBLOCK;
 	else
 		mode = O_RDWR;
-mode = O_RDONLY | O_NONBLOCK;
 
 	if((fd = open(argv[0], mode)) < 0)
 		err(EX_UNAVAILABLE, "open(%s)", argv[0]);