In the United States, pilots undergo a criminal history check as well as a threat assessment to see if they have ever been flagged as a “person of interest” in federal law enforcement databases.

A FlyDubai plane carried passengers to Tel Aviv on Wednesday after a midair cockpit attack on their earlier flight. Two other pilots who were seated in the cabin safely landed that plane.

Capt. Smit Machchhar in a photo released by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.