The flydubai copilot who attempted to crash a plane full of Israelis earlier this week was banned from flying by Oman over concerns that he had been radicalized, people familiar with the matter tell The Wall Street Journal.
Despite that, the copilot still flew flydubai’s Dubai to Tel Aviv route. On Wednesday, he stabbed the pilot and, according to witnesses, tried to crash the plane in an attempted terror attack.
The Journal did not determine if Muscat shared its concerns with other countries or airlines.
The Journal could not specify the nature of his radicalization, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday he “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination.”
A Channel 12 news report earlier said investigators had found he was indoctrinated into al-Qaeda ideology.
Flydubai and Oman’s government did not respond to The Journal’s requests for comment.
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