Flydubai's Hamam al-Hammami attacked captain, plane landed in Saudi Arabia
A Flydubai flight in late September turned into a real-life nightmare when copilot Hamam al-Hammami attacked the captain midair with an ax.
Even while injured, Captain Smit Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, letting crew and passengers step in and stop al-Hammami.
Thanks to two off-duty pilots on board, everyone landed safely in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk.
Questions raised over pilot background checks
Turns out, al-Hammami had planned this attack before even joining Flydubai, choosing the airline because of its Tel Aviv route.
Investigators found he had gathered information during earlier visits and had even thought about carrying out the attack months before.
He allegedly planned to crash the aircraft into a US military base in Jordan if he was unable to reach Israel.
He worked at Oman Air for seven years, leaving in February last year, and Royal Air Maroc said he trained there for three months last year as part of the pre-employment process but was not selected, raising serious questions about how pilots are screened.
More rigorous background checks are necessary for pilots to keep flights safe.