Hi- Jack in Cape Town

[411 B]

Just heard on the 12H00 news that an A/C has been hijacked at Cape Town International!

Goldfish, any news please!!

[que]

FROM NEWS24.COM:


Cape Town - An SAA flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg was the target of what appears to be an attempted hijacking on Saturday morning.

According to SAA, a passenger threatened crew members, demanding access to the cockpit. The passenger was then subdued.

SAA spokesperson Jackie O'Sullivan told News24, "SAA can confirm that flight SA322 from Cape Town to Johannesburg has returned back to Cape Town safely, and no one was injured.

"A passenger threatened crew members, demanding access to the cockpit, he was then subdued.

"The aircraft is on the ground, and passengers have left the aircraft to be reconciled with their baggage. They will then be returned to the terminals, where they will be met by SAA care teams. ""

BTW B737-800

[ZS340]

Not a Hi jack as such but sounds like a passenger who had altercation with crew and threatened them.
Situation is overand Aircraft is on ground no one injured.

[fuzzie]

:= NEVER DESTROY A GOOD STORY WITH FACT

A/C OUT OF CAPE TOWN
PASSENGER: 21 YEAR OLD IN BUSINESS CLASS
WEAPON : SYRINGE WITH NEEDLE
VICTIM : HOSTY
DEMANDS:FLIGHT DECK
VICTORS: THREE TIMES PAX (ONE A PAXING CAPT)
RESULT : BEAT THE **** OUT OF THE BOY
SUMMARY: BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION AGAIN BY REPORTERS
POLICE ON GROUND : NOWHERE EESH WEEKEND MAN
WHO LOOKS BAD: SAA ONCE AGAIN

[saywhat]

:=

PASSENGER: 21 YEAR OLD IN BUSINESS CLASS
WEAPON : SYRINGE WITH NEEDLE
VICTIM : HOSTY
DEMANDS:FLIGHT DECK
VICTORS: THREE TIMES PAX (ONE A PAXING CAPT)
RESULT : BEAT THE **** OUT OF THE BOY
SUMMARY: BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION AGAIN BY REPORTERS
POLICE ON GROUND : NOWHERE EESH WEEKEND MAN
WHO LOOKS BAD: SAA ONCE AGAIN
What exactly was he expecting to do??
Draw blood?

[FlingWingKing]

:= NEVER DESTROY A GOOD STORY WITH FACT

A/C OUT OF CAPE TOWN
PASSENGER: 21 YEAR OLD IN BUSINESS CLASS
WEAPON : SYRINGE WITH NEEDLE
VICTIM : HOSTY
DEMANDS:FLIGHT DECK
VICTORS: THREE TIMES PAX (ONE A PAXING CAPT)
RESULT : BEAT THE **** OUT OF THE BOY
SUMMARY: BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION AGAIN BY REPORTERS
POLICE ON GROUND : NOWHERE EESH WEEKEND MAN
WHO LOOKS BAD: SAA ONCE AGAIN

What do you mean by SAA looking bad again? What did you expect them to do diffirent?

[bianchi]

Thats it Fuzzy ! Say it as it was !:ok:

Poor reporting again by someone that think he ,she is a reporter ! Fly SAA, you will be safe !!:D

[Shrike200]

I can't believe that none of the reports I've read (here, avcom etc + most of the newspaper headlines I read today) seem to mention the very delayed arrival of the cops. Even the SAA crew (I assume it was the F/O, but it could have been the Capt) complained bitterly to ATC on 121.9 at FACT about the cops taking so long to arrive at the a/c, calling the situation 'unacceptable', and rightly so. SA322 touched at about (I didn't write this down, so subject to some error) 1025B or so, and chocked shortly thereafter next to the threshold RWY34. The police task force only arrived through the gate at A10 at about 1121B (I wrote this down!), and some more arrived at 1130B. They then had a little 'group hug' (or something like that), and spoke to the SAA engineer, who was plugged into the AC and in comms with the pilots, before going onboard.

So, if the incident occured 35 minutes into the flight (from reports I've read), and assuming the crew made a very quick decision to turn around, that still leaves 35 minutes (approx) to return to FACT, land, and have the police arrive only another hour later, meaning the police took at least 1.5 HRS to start taking control of the situation! What if there were multiple bad guys, who started fighting again and escaped? There are so many things that could have gone wrong in that time spent waiting for them, it's shocking. They're going to have to pull finger come 2010, at the very least.

The SAA crew (as far as I could see) did things professionally and by the book, as did ATC, who had there hands full trying to control all the vehicles blundering around the airfield, some not on comms and not telling anybody what they were doing it seemed. The cops and ground security personell seemed like the clueless ones to me.

[nugpot]

.... The cops and ground security personell seemed like the clueless ones to me.

Contrary to your expectations...???

[Shrike200]

Contrary to your expectations...???

Not at all, not at all! Sad to say....

[3rdBogey]

Rumour has it that during the hijack attempt on Sat 17, one of the Airline's 319's was holding overhead for a while. However, when they EVENTUALLY "diverted", they went to Langebaan... and had to tell ATC it is a 'crisis'. Fuel planning a bit lacking? Or is this their notmal alternate???

[ZS340]

FALW and FAOB are approved alternates for long range operational planning not domestic. Therefore I guess they had to explain why they were requesting the use of FALW. Why divert miles away if one can make use of a closer alternate in excetional circumstances.

The the 319 has an onboard fuel prediction page with fantastic accuracy. So I'm sure their fuel planning was accurate to within 1ookgs.

What makes you think that a mistake was made in the fuel planning for the flight?
I seem to detect a touch of malevalence in your post......why?

[Phenomenon]

My personal oppinion is that is was just for the passengers's sake.

They knew that the situation at FACT was resolving itself and they would be able to land there in not too long. Why divert all the way to FAPE (or whatever they're actuall alternate is) when you can land in FALW and just hop over as soon as FACT becomes available again.

[fluffyfan]

when they EVENTUALLY "diverted", they went to Langebaan... and had to tell ATC it is a 'crisis'. Fuel planning a bit lacking?

It was a 319, presume it was from Durban, his alternate would have been George or PE, probably George, SAA uses SITA flight plans, fuel for contingency, alternate etc is acurate to 10kg.

Langebaan is not the normal alternate so no he should not have gone there, the reason they probably did was they took a chance that the airport would open went into there alternate fuel for George and changed there alternate to Langebaan probably had permission from Ops at that stage as it does make better operational sense. when he got to Alternate fuel for Langebaan it was probably close to 45min left in tanks and according to SAA Operations that is a mandatory urgency call (30 mins is mayday) hence you say it was a crisis, not really a crisis just that Ops manual state it must be brought to ATC attention as a urgency call.

Let me assure you SAA fuel planning involves SITA flight plans and state of the art aircraft and training, management at SAA (like the rest of the world) wants the crew to take SITA fuel to cut down on the cost of tankering fuel all over the place, thats fine until you have a small problem like in CT and then there was no holding fuel.........most Captains will add a small amount of extra fuel on top of SITA fuel but some dont (as per management wishes).

Hope this answers your question

[nugpot]

I might have this wrong, but the version of the story that I heard was that they had held for CPT until they were at normal diversion fuel for PLZ. They started to divert to PLZ and were called by CPT to tell them that CPT was now available.

The captain then decided to return to CPT (I would have done the same) and asked if LBWG might be available, because they were now under PLZ fuel.

He was probably now using his 30 min hold fuel and could still have gone to PLZ, but AFAIK GRJ was CAVOK and could also be used.

I don't think that they ever diverted to LBWG or that they declared a fuel emergency. BTW, CPT was CAVOK and was just unusuable because the ATC's didn't know when the cops would be charging across the runways.

[3rdBogey]

Thanks Fluffyfan. Your paragraph makes logical sense, with the required amount of real-world operational feeling to bridge the gaps....;)
As for the other retorts, malevalence? Me? Never! Why would anyone feel malevalence towards SAA??

[PAXboy]

SAA boss Khaya Ngqula reacting to comments made by some passengers unhappy with their treatment during and after an attempted hijacking on a domestic flight.
From the moment an aircraft is hijacked, it is a military zone. The security forces take charge.
This was on news24.com (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1956789,00.html) and I'll leave the experts to comment on how this is implemented mid-flight.

[congoman]

There was no holding involved. Aircraft was turned back to CPT immediately incident occured. Crew did an excellent job of containing the threat. (Cabin crew as well!) Passengers can be very grateful for SAA's "locked door" policy.
SAA fitted strengthened cockpit doors to all their aircraft after 911. Looks like the cost was worth it! :ok: Had this incident occured on any of the other domestic carriers the outcome would almost certainly have been very different! :eek: Pity the cops had to be the weakest link...:sad: As for the passengers...well, sometimes there's nothing that pleases them!

[farmpilot]

Really?

As I understood it, he was taken down before he got to the door.

All doors have been locked since 911. Even an old style door as long as it was locked would have stopped him if he even got that far - for awhile anyway....

How did the cabin crew help? It was two pax and a positioning driver that stopped him, again as I understand it.

Where you there Congoman or do you have inside info?

[congoman]

There are a couple of domestic operators in SA that still do not have decent lockable doors fitted to their aircraft - and several who do not even have a locked door policy! The guy was thumping on the door seconds after it was closed. The old style doors do not lock automatically as is the case on SAA, so he would almost certainly have got onto the flight deck had he been on another carrier. SAA also has cameras with video monitors fitted in the cockpit - which proved invaluable in assessing the situation in the back.
Two pax did help - alongside the paxing pilot and a cabin attendant.
Wasn't there but got hot gen.

[farmpilot]

Now the cat's out of the bag......

I'm glad the cabin crew weren't hiding down the back as others have said.

Thanks for the info

[27Foxtrot]

SAA boss Khaya Ngqula reacting to comments made by some passengers unhappy with their treatment during and after an attempted hijacking on a domestic flight.
This was on news24.com (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1956789,00.html) and I'll leave the experts to comment on how this is implemented mid-flight.

I fully agree with it. This is one reasont he plane was parke don Thr 34, and not the terminals. (another being you don't want a plane full of fuel and people exploding on an apron).

I'm sorry for the people who were roughly handled, but when the polcie make an entry to a plane they honestly don't know what to expect. Is the suspect alone, does he have accomplaces? Are they armed with guns, knives or explosives? They don't really know. What they DO want to see is everyone's hands, to make sure no one else is going to threaten the saftey of the plane.

I don't understand peoples complaints. When ANYONE with a 5.56mm assault rifle shouts at you to do it, you do it, you don't argue with them.

As for the delayed police arrivial, this was, as I understand it, an error in communication from the ACSA side. Aparently they were on their way to the airport when someone from ACSA phoned the police to say the plane was "safe". Aparently the understanding of the task force was the place was secured and the passengers were being processed by the airport police.

What was meant was the plane was "safe" on the ground, but still in "hostile" controll.

How exactly someone told the police it was safe and they didn't follow it up, I don't know, but thats the story I heard from the STF.

27F

[4HolerPoler]

This little beauty just made my day - they've declared him a "paranoid delusional" and suggested that he be sent back to Zim for treatment. :} The place is run by a psychotic paranoid delusional (did anyone see the ambassador to the US making a fool of himself on CNN this week, trying to defend his country's death spiral?)

The Zimbabwean who tried to hijack a South African Airways flight from Cape Town earlier this year is a "paranoid delusional" and should be sent home for treatment, a psychiatrist has recommended. The recommendation was contained in a report handed in on Thursday to the Bellville regional court, where Tinashe Rioga, 21, a commerce student at the University of Cape Town, made another brief appearance. His attorney, Reuben Liddell, said he had asked veteran Cape Town psychiatrist, Professor Tuviah Zabow, to assess Rioga, with a view to applying for the young man to be sent to Valkenburg psychiatric hospital for observation. Zabow said in the report when he saw Rioga, the Zimbabwean had already been diagnosed by a psychiatrist at Goodwood Prison as being psychotic with "prominent persecutory delusions and auditory hallucinations".

Zabow said Rioga had a history of recent physical illness and fainting, and there was a family history of epilepsy and possible mental illness. "It appears as if he has been deteriorating with his functioning for some time and has been unwell for most of this year," Zabow said. Rioga had become apprehensive and unhappy at UCT, and at one point refused to return to residence. "He became more fearful that he would be harmed following incidences in which fellow country students had been targeted," Zabow said. He said Rioga was intelligent, with "fixed delusional ideas", which appeared to have led to the hijack attempt. "His behaviour [at] the time of alleged offence is to be related to mental illness and that he did not have the ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions or to act accordingly," Zabow said. His diagnosis was "paranoid delusional disorder", which could be acute schizophrenia. Zabow said Rioga needed treatment urgently. "He is not considered dangerous and would appropriately be returned to the care of his brother in his home country. Negotiations should be instituted to withdraw charges on the basis of mental illness," he said. Magistrate Johan Vermaak ordered that Rioga be sent to Valkenburg for a 30 day period for assessment by a panel of psychiatrists and psychologists. He postponed the case to January 19.

The bespectacled Rioga listened attentively to the proceedings, showing no emotion other than bowing his head as the magistrate made the 30-day order. He asked Liddell for a copy of Zabow's report before he was led from the courtroom. He has not been granted bail. Rioga tried to hijack an SAA flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg in June, threatening an air hostess with a syringe and demanding access to the cockpit. He was overpowered by passengers.

"Intelligent," "psychotic with prominent persecutory delusions and auditory hallucinations," - this boy has a future; race him back to Zim (preferably by road or submarine) and he'll be snapped up by Bob's crowd.

4HP

[4HolerPoler]

Well, now it's official:

Zimbabwean university student Tinashe Rioga, who allegedly tried to hijack an SAA flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg last year, was declared unfit on Wednesday to stand trial in terms of the Mental Disorders Act. The order declaring him unfit to stand trial was made by magistrate Johan Vermaak, when Rioga, a BSc (computers) student at the University of Cape Town, appeared in Bellville regional court. The order was made after Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital authorities declared Rioga unable to understand the proceedings, or to grasp the gravity of his offence. A medical report said he was schizophrenic. Roaga's lawyer, Leon van der Merwe, said that for all practical purposes Rioga had been declared a State President's patient, which meant he would be referred back to hospital for treatment. If and when psychiatrists considered him sufficiently recovered for release from hospital, an application for his discharge would be placed before a High Court judge in chambers, said Van der Merwe. He said the outcome of the case meant Rioga was mentally ill at the time of the alleged offence and, for this reason, could never again face trial for the attempted hijack, even if he recovered from his illness.

How much do you think that one's cost? I'd take a small wager that he could go out tomorrow & buy himself another ticket.

4HP