Well, I did say that I was going to leave this... but I do need respond to the latest comment. I really don't want to reduce this to A,B,C's .... but:
1. You have R/T and you can ask questions - or express an opinion,
2. You can make sure that what you think is conveyed to somebody,
3. You can state your concerns and desires (as commander),
4. You can even declare an emergency and state your intentions ...
and so on. You are NOT impotent. This is not to say that you would be wise to ignore a direct order to comply with a reasonable order or direction, but it is to ask that people stop and think before just following somebody who may be in an even greater state of ignorance.
What I have really been saying is that the appearance that the police are "in charge" and know something you don't know, or that the fighter pilot knows something you don't know may be entirely erroneous. I think it is evident that something very strange took place here leading to an unacceptable outcome.
What are the odds that the police in this case ran the procedure for a hijack, etc. in error, or in the absence of knowing what to do? I don't know, but I find the outcome strange and I find the loss of control of the situation to be "interesting" - not least because I will bet a lot that there was nobody else who felt that they were responsible for the passengers (whatever else they thought they were in charge of).
If the aircraft had been destroyed by an exploding bomb, what would an inquiry have to say about the movement of responsibility, or confused lines of communication?
As far as I am concerned this little spat started solely because of the implication that someone external to the aircraft suddenly becomes the boss, even in circumstances where the crew might know something of relevance or significance.
I still don't see how it is wise to have a "system" that merits a warning as being serious enough to divert an aircraft with a fighter escort, BUT which is not serious enough to have the passengers taken off the aircraft at the earliest opportunity. Am I missing something?