The quick-thinking actions of the captain of a FlyDubai flight to Israel last week thwarted an unmitigated hijacking disaster. But aviation safety experts say the incident raises serious concerns about pre-flight security failures and how it happened in the first place.
The suspected attacker, named as co-pilot Hammam al-Hamami, was fired from Oman’s national airline last year over concerns about his extremist views, officials told CNN. Although the United Arab Emirates and Israel both have strict aviation safety regulations, Al Hammami was allowed to fly.
“Many of the security measures adopted after 9/11 were aimed at preventing external threats, such as loading bombs and objects onto aircraft, and preventing threats from within the passenger base from gaining access to the cockpit,” said CNN national security analyst Alex Prisas. “It wasn’t designed on the theory that pilots would do something like that.”
There are no international standards for background checks. Experts said pilot licenses and security passes are handled at a national level and rules vary from country to country.
Allegations of extremist views and the firing of a suspected attacker from his previous job have raised concerns about the reliability of background checks in the airline industry.
CNN has contacted Oman Air, Dubai Government Media Department and Dubai Airports Company for comment. flydubai said it could not comment as the incident was under investigation.
Aviation expert Alastair Rosenschein, who worked as a pilot in the UK for 40 years, said all flight crew should have an “airside” pass that gives them access to the airport and the non-passenger side of the aircraft. Obtaining these passes typically requires a police investigation and background check, but experts say the process depends on each country’s regulations.
Israel’s Ministry of Transport told reporters on Saturday that it relies on foreign airlines’ commitment to international regulations and on signed declarations that each airline’s pilots and crew members are vetted.
Rosenschein said he had no knowledge of the specific process in the UAE, but “we know where the responsibility lies: the government, the airlines, the security services, because no one else has the authority to investigate or pass on this information.”
“There’s really nothing set in stone about how people are vetted, and that’s the way it should be,” Rosenschein said, questioning: “Why didn’t the Omanis suspend the pilot’s license?”
Aviation expert and British pilot Gideon Ewers said a pilot’s license is essentially a technical qualification that shows you know how to fly an airplane. The license itself does not come with a record of past employment issues or violations.
Questions about hiring practices and ongoing checks
Recruitment practices also vary widely between airlines, but most include some type of psychological evaluation, flight simulation testing, and recommendations from previous employers or trainers, Rosenschein said. Pilots must also pass periodic medical examinations. It is unclear how the attacking pilot got through the inquiry process if he was fired from an Omani airline over concerns about his extremist views.
“Company A’s hiring process can be very different from Company B’s hiring process, even for similar roles,” Ewers told CNN. “Any pilot who has been involved in recruiting will tell you that the number one question is to ask yourself, ‘Do I want to sit in the cockpit with this guy for 12 hours?’
Rosenschein added that the main way airlines know if someone is unfit to work is through internal reporting. He said: “If someone is behaving strangely, perhaps starting drinking heavily late at night, that should be reported to a colleague.”
He argued that this attempted hijacking and previous pilot suicide-murder cases show that more needs to be done in terms of checks on industry staff, including information sharing between airlines and nations, social media checks, random checks on staff for the presence of alcohol and other drugs, and regular psychological tests. None of these are industry-wide standards.
“There are so many lives at risk in aviation that I think we need to move towards more stringent regulations in the industry,” Rosenschein said, but noted that flying today is much safer than when he started working as a pilot in the 1970s.
CNN reached out to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations agency that helps countries cooperate on aviation issues, which said the standards “are under continuous review by ICAO and are being strengthened as ICAO identifies new priorities and new best practices.”
On Saturday, the United Arab Emirates confirmed that the suspect had used a crash ax in the cockpit, dispelling suspicions that he had smuggled a knife. This is what most airliners are equipped with in case there is an emergency and it is necessary to escape from a damaged aircraft or break down a panel to get to a fire.
“There’s a weapon on the flight deck. Should we keep it there? I don’t think it should,” Rosenschein said, adding that the ax also poses a safety issue related to people outside the cockpit, as the door is sometimes opened for bathroom breaks during the flight.
This is a difficult balance for airlines tasked with preventing both accidental and malicious emergencies, as well as internal and external threats.
For safety, the cockpit door is locked from the inside, and experts say most planes have a switch on the control panel that can open the hard door. In the Flydubai incident, it is unclear whether that was how the injured Indian pilot opened the door to help the passenger.
Some planes are also equipped with emergency entry/exit cords to allow the flight deck to be accessed in the event the crew is incapacitated, such as if the pilot has a heart attack or stroke. However, it is unlikely to be helpful in the event of an accident intended by the pilot, such as an attack or suicide of the pilot.
The United Arab Emirates and Israel are both investigating the incident, officials said. An investigation will also be conducted in Saudi Arabia, where the plane was diverted for an emergency landing. Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.
Marco Chan, a senior lecturer in aviation operations at Kingston University in London, said investigators are likely to first examine the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder in the coming days. Chan told CNN that more details will be taken into the attacker’s medical history and training history. He said investigators will likely question other crew members, passengers and the off-duty pilot who landed the plane safely.
An Israeli official told CNN that it is not yet clear how the Omani pilot obtained permission to fly to Israel, given that Oman and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations.
The Israeli Tax Authority confirmed that the names of all passengers and crew members were in the custody of Israeli authorities before takeoff, but said questions regarding crew screening should be referred to the Ministry of Transport. Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, also referred CNN to the Ministry of Transport, which it said is “responsible for all safety issues related to foreign airlines.”
The Ministry of Transport said the process does not include verifying the names of flight crew members, but that these names are submitted to the Israeli tax authorities and collected by the authorities at the request of security authorities.
The ministry added that all air crew members must obtain a travel visa to enter Oman and must present their Omani passport at check-in. But the department also said that “its procedures do not address the threat from pilots.”
On Sunday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the head of the National Security Council to conduct a “thorough inspection” of all aspects of the safety of foreign civil aviation entering Israel.
Regarding broader airline hiring practices and background checks, security experts said these checks should theoretically apply to everyone, regardless of nationality.
