00:00This morning, the investigation into that attempted attack on a Fly Dubai flight is now
00:04focusing on a big question. How was the co-pilot allowed to fly in the first place?
00:09Investigators say the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machar with an emergency crash axe then
00:15tried to take control of the plane as it flew from Dubai to Tel Aviv. That axe wasn't smuggled
00:21on board. It was already in the cockpit, standard emergency equipment used on passenger planes.
00:26The plane started dropping fast. Machar was badly injured but managed to open the cockpit door,
00:33allowing passengers and crew to get inside and restrain the co-pilot. Reserve pilots on board
00:38took the controls and landed the plane in Saudi Arabia. Investigators now believe the co-pilot
00:43likely acted alone. U.S. officials say there's currently no indication Iran directed the attack,
00:49though the investigation is still early. But there are new questions about his background.
00:54Sources tell CNN he was removed from Oman's national airline last year after concerns about
01:00extremist views. And yet he later went to work for Fly Dubai and was cleared to fly an Israel-bound
01:06passenger jet. Aviation experts say there is no single international standard for pilot background
01:12checks and information about employment or security concerns doesn't automatically follow a pilot from
01:18one airline or country to another. Machar is recovering in Abu Dhabi, where Dubai's crown prince has now
01:25visited him on Sunday. The UAE is leading the investigation. Israel and Saudi Arabia are also investigating.
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