Flydubai: The Flydubai Flight FZ1073 incident has raised questions about how a man previously flagged for concerns about his fitness to fly managed to enter the cockpit of a passenger plane.
Concerns were raised in Oman
The first officer, Hamam al-Hammami, was an Omani national who had previously worked for Oman Air. In the investigation, sources said Omani authorities had flagged his online activity and his apparently developing interest in radical ideology. He was said to have been prevented from flying, shifted to a desk-based role, and undergone deradicalization.
How did he reach Fly Dubai?
Following al-Hammami’s departure from his flying position with Oman Air, he was recruited by UAE-based Fly Dubai. According to reports, the airline followed routine checks, but doubts are now emerging about whether this was enough to have caught previous issues flagged up in Oman. The problem is especially pertinent as security of the aviation industry is not only reliant on the internal vetting of airlines but also on partnership arrangements between airlines, regulators, and domestic security agencies.
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The Israel connection added another layer
The plane was due to fly from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The UAE is understood to have provided the names and nationalities of the pilot and crew of the flight to Israeli authorities prior to departure, including the passenger manifest. Questions have been raised about what information Israel had ahead of the flight and whether additional searches could have been carried out. The case is therefore not just one airline, or one country. It has exposed the problems that can arise when security data are contained in various national agencies.
What happened inside the cockpit?
The incident reportedly took place onboard a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, when al-Hammami assaulted Indian captain Smit Machchhar in the cockpit. The plane quickly lost altitude from about 34,000 feet to 16,600 feet. The crew sent out emergency transponder signals to air traffic control. But even of Machchhar could get the cockpit door open, passengers and other pilots aboard the plane took control of it once again. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
