FlyDubai incident: Airline safety expert explains how cockpits have become more secure

by Jeff Price, Metropolitan State University of Denver, [This article first appeared in The Conversation, republished with permission] An incident in which a FlyDubai pilot is said to have stabbed the captain with the intention of crashing a plane of mainly Israeli passengers has shone a light on flight security. Reports suggest that passengers on the plane were able to enter the cockpit, subduing the alleged attacker before the plane was safely diverted to a Saudi runway. Israeli fighter jets were scrambled in response to the incident. What do airlines do to prevent incidents like this one? I’m an aviation security expert with 40 years’ experience in the industry. My expertise is in how the U.S. system works. But much of what has been put in place in the U.S. after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 have been implemented in some form as best practice across the world. The 2001 attacks – in which terrorists stormed the cockpits of four passenger jets, crashing three into targets, with the fourth being brought down after passengers fought with the hijackers – saw the U.S. and global airline industry change its protocols and safety measures to protect the cockpit from outside threats. Insider
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