Diplomat says flydubai pilot was subject to standard security check, amid questions over vetting

A regional official and a person familiar with the matter say the co-pilot who attempted to crash a flydubai plane full of Israelis had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns that he had adopted extremist views.

The copilot was later hired by UAE-based airline flydubai, the person says. It wasn’t immediately clear to what extent the copilot was vetted. The Gulf diplomat says he had undergone standard security checks before being hired, but it appears that the checks focused on whether he had been convicted of criminal charges and didn’t go deeper into examining his background for potential signs of radicalization.

The regional official also says security agencies from four regional countries are working to establish the co-pilot’s motives, aided by the United States and other Western governments. The Gulf diplomat says the investigation, which hasn’t concluded, hasn’t found any connections with terrorist groups, suggesting that the co-pilot acted on his own.

The regional official says the co-pilot was born in the UAE and his mother is Syrian. He obtained Omani nationality from his father, also an Omani national. The regional official also says the copilot had traveled to Syria, with no details.