On Wednesday, the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, with 174 people on board, attacked his captain with the cockpit's crash axe and tried to take the controls.
The wounded captain got the door open, passengers and crew overpowered the attacker, and the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The UAE calls it an attempted terrorist act. The motive hasn't been officially confirmed.
One detail should worry everyone who flies. According to reports, the co-pilot had been barred from flying in Oman because of concerns about extremist views, yet he still ended up in another airline's cockpit.
Since 9/11 we've built armoured doors to keep attackers out, but they do nothing about the person already sitting inside.
That raises a question: should airlines and governments share pilots' security red flags across borders?
Yes, because a warning that stays in one country's files is no warning at all, and 174 lives nearly paid for that gap.
No, because someone has to decide what counts as "extremist views", and standards differ enormously between governments. A cross-border blacklist based on beliefs rather than actions could end careers without a trial, or be turned against dissidents.
Where's the line between safety and profiling? Give your reason, not just your side.