‘Multiple security failures’ to blame for FlyDubai attack – WSJ

Oman, the UAE, and Israel all missed opportunities to stop Hamam Hammami, who had previously been deemed too radical to fly, the newspaper says Multiple security and vetting failures across Oman, the UAE, and Israel allowed a pilot previously deemed too radical to fly to reach the cockpit of a Tel Aviv-bound FlyDubai passenger jet and attack its captain, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing sources.The near-disaster occurred on Wednesday onboard the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport with around 180 passengers and crew members. Roughly two hours into the flight, co-pilot Hamam Hammami asked Capt. Smit Machchhar if he could pray, and after receiving permission, hit him several times with an emergency axe as the plane went into a dangerous dive.However, the badly wounded captain managed to open the locked cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to rush in and overpower Hammami. Two other Flydubai pilots traveling aboard the flight took the controls and eventually landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia. The UAE attorney general has called the assault an attempted terrorist act, with the investigation still ongoing. However, red flags about Hamma...