Threat in the cockpit: Health and psychological vetting a must

India, Oct. 4 -- In view of multiple recent plane crashes and near-crashes, better background verification, psychological assessment, and scheduled and unscheduled mental and physical health checks should be mandatory before and during a pilot's career.

THE RADICAL THREAT

In response to catastrophic 9/11 terrorists storming the cockpits of four commercial airliners in 2001, global regulatory bodies mandated heavily armoured, bulletproof flight deck doors to keep out external threats. However, the harrowing crisis aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 exposed how radicalized insiders are now, trapping vulnerable crew members locked inside. During the flight, a radicalized Omani co-pilot violently assaulted Captain Smit Machchhar in a deliberate at...