00:02This morning, the investigation into that attempted attack on a FlyDubai flight is now
00:06focusing on a big question. How was the co-pilot allowed to fly in the first place?
00:12Investigators say the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machar with an emergency crash axe then
00:17tried to take control of the plane as it flew from Dubai to Tel Aviv. That axe wasn't smuggled
00:23on board. It was already in the cockpit, standard emergency equipment used on passenger planes.
00:28The plane started dropping fast. Machar was badly injured but managed to open the cockpit door,
00:35allowing passengers and crew to get inside and restrain the co-pilot. Reserve pilots on board
00:41took the controls and landed the plane in Saudi Arabia. Investigators now believe the co-pilot
00:46likely acted alone. U.S. officials say there's currently no indication Iran directed the attack,
00:52though the investigation is still early. But there are new questions about his background.
00:56Sources tell CNN he was removed from Oman's national airline last year after concerns about
01:02extremist views. And yet he later went to work for FlyDubai and was cleared to fly an Israel-bound
01:08passenger jet. Aviation experts say there is no single international standard for pilot background
01:14checks, and information about employment or security concerns doesn't automatically follow a pilot from
01:20one airline or country to another. Machar is recovering in Abu Dhabi, where Dubai's crown prince has now
01:27visited him on Sunday. The UAE is leading the investigation. Israel and Saudi Arabia are also investigating.
