Hijack situation in Jamaica

[tiba]

News just filtering in. Aircraft hijack. Sitting on runway in montego bay. Pilot reportedly shot dead. Anyone has more details? Its just come on CNN

[qwertyplop]

Hostages held at Jamaica airport - CNN.com (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/04/20/jamaica.security/index.html)

[tiba]

(CNN) -- Passengers were reportedly taken hostage on a charter flight at a Jamaican airport.

They were boarding the CanJet flight from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay to Halifax, Canada, late Sunday when the security breach occurred, said Elizabeth Scotton, a spokeswoman for the company that manages the airport.

Scotton would not say how many hostages were being held.

About 150 people were scheduled to be on the flight, said Jamaican police Lt. Col. Derek Robinson, and it was not known how many were on the plane.

A passenger, Brenda Grenier, called her husband and said a man apparently had sneaked aboard the plane and had taken hostages. Grenier and her daughter were safe, her husband said by phone from his home in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Jamaican police and the company's security personnel were handling the incident, Scotton said.

Lt. Damain Bromley of the police said they were waiting for more information. An airport official reported the security breach, he added

[mickjoebill]

Twitter info says passengers released 7 crew left onboard

mickjoebill

[Avitor]

Sky News are reporting a Canadian 737 has been hi-jacked, on the gound at Jamaica airport, pax freed, crew held.

Story developing.

[Kerosene Kraut]

Said to be Canadian registered a/c C-FTCZ.

[Stierado]

Yeah brilliant ...think we are loosing track of the topic here...

Anyone know anything new, the news channels are very vague and have surprisingly little on this situation.

What is the latest on the the crew, and can anyone confirm the first post ?!?

[captjns]

Okay boys and girls of MKJS... how did the wapon get through security?:=

[Carjockey]

Latest from CNN, apparently nobody has been hurt.

Jamaican hostage-taker makes Cuba demand - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/04/20/jamaica.security/index.html)

(CNN) -- An armed man released all passengers but continued to hold five crew members hostage early Monday inside a charter plane at a Jamaican airport, officials said.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/WORLD/americas/04/20/jamaica.security/art.canjet.jpg A hostage-taker commandeered a CanJet flight at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica.


http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif


Police had the CanJet flight surrounded at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and were negotiating with the hostage-taker.
"His demand was to go to Cuba," said Jamaica's Information Minister Daryl Vaz.
The man's father was on the scene to help secure the release of the crew members, Vaz said. The country's Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the minister of national security also flew in by helicopter.
"All passengers have been safely removed from the aircraft, but CanJet crew and the armed man remain on board," the airline said in a statement. "Our understanding is that no harm has come to anyone remaining on board and no there has been no damage to the aircraft."
The passengers would be taken to a hotel, Vaz said. Two of the crew members had locked themselves in the cockpit, he said.
CanJet Flight 918 flew in from Halifax, Canada, and had made a scheduled landing at Montego Bay when the armed man boarded the plane late Sunday, the airline said.
The flight was carrying 182 passengers and crew. The man took an undisclosed number of them hostage, said Elizabeth Scotton, a spokeswoman for the company that manages the airport.
Christen Gosslin, a passenger on the flight, told his father that the gunman demanded cash from the plane's occupants.
"The guy wanted to have all their money," said Gosslin's father, Alphonse. "He (my son) told his girlfriend to take all the money and just take her passport and credit card and put it in her back pocket."
Christen Gosslin was part of a 25-person wedding party. He and his girlfriend were released by the hostage-taker, and they spoke to his father in New Brunswick, Canada, while waiting for another flight.
"I didn't ask them too many questions; I was more concerned for their safety," the father said. "They were a bit shaken up. It was quite an experience."
Another passenger, Brenda Grenier, called her husband and said a man apparently had sneaked aboard the plane, as airport workers were loading bags. Grenier and her daughter were safe, her husband said by phone from his home in Nova Scotia, Canada.

[Stierado]

So the glorious BBC has just had a very quick and cut-short interview with a Jamaican Radio News Reader who confirmed that the hijacker got onto the aircraft when it was ready to leave, and that all the pax have been released.

She said that the FO and Cabin Crew were still on with the hijacker and that there was a stalemate going on in negotiations as the police had brought the hijackers father to talk to him.

Unfortunately the BBC then cuts to the riveting speech that Gordie is about to give to UK business men...brilliant...no one asks about the state of the captain.

[Stierado]

AGAIN...thank you for all the linguistic explanations on here, but they have NOTHING to do with this topic....so pack it in..!!!!!

FRANCE 24 reported with the same jamaican radio news reader as BBC did, saying that the gun man had a mental condition and was demanding to be flown to Canada initially at the security check point...

Does this mean he made it through the check point armed, or did he already force his way through there....?!?

[Maurjul]

Nobody has been shot.. matter of fact noone at all has been hurt

[Maurjul]

i work there and i'm very concerned about the security right now :uhoh:

[YHZChick]

News reports here are saying the hijacker is demanding to go to Cuba actually. This aircraft was scheduled to travel on to Cuba, before returning to YHZ.

PM Stephen Harper is actually in Kingston to address the Jamaican Parliament today (though whether that will happen with current events is anyone's guess) and has offered the use of his Government jet to transport any stranded passengers.

[lexxity]

Sky New reporting hikacker breached perimeter fence. Hope this is resolved peacefully and the crew are released very soon.

[YHZChick]

From the Canjet pressconference just completed:

174 passengers
all passengers were Canadian
6 crew still onboard
Canjet has not been in touch with crew
passengers who want to return today, can
unknown how the man made it through the airport with a gun onto the plane at this point
reports that a shot was fired, however unconfirmed

[YHZChick]

Apparently, the Captain has been released. The hijacker still has the FO, as well as cabin crew.

[PositiveRate876]

Gunman hijacks Canjet plane at Sangster Airport


Monday, April 20, 2009

A gunman last night hijacked a CanJet charter flight at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica after forcing his way through security check points.

The gunman held hostage the aircraft's eight crew members and 159 passengers who were on board at the time for a short while before releasing all passengers and two members of the crew.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/images/20090420T050000-0500_149795_OBS_GUNMAN_HIJACKS_CANJET_PLANE_AT_SANGSTER_AIRP ORT_1.gif
The CanJet plane which was hijacked Sunday night by a gunman, sits on the tarmac of the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The gunman held hostage members of the crew (eight in total) and 159 passengers who were on board at the time for a short while before releasing all passengers and two members of the crew. No member of the aircraft¹s crew or any passengers have been hurt. (Photo: Pat Roxborough-Wright

No member of the aircraft's crew or any passengers have been hurt. A news release from the police at approximately 3:45 this morning said that the passengers have all been debriefed by the Jamaican police and have been placed in local hotels. Following their debriefing, the passengers were addressed by Prime Minister Bruce Golding who assured them that everything possible was being done to enable them to return home as early as possible.

The aircraft has been isolated and the airport will continue normal operations.
CanJet flight 918, was destined for Halifax, Canada with a scheduled stop in Santa Clara, Cuba.

Gunman hijacks Canjet plane at Sangster Airport - JamaicaObserver.com (http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20090420T050000-0500_149795_OBS_GUNMAN_HIJACKS_CANJET_PLANE_AT_SANGSTER_AIRP ORT.asp)

[EagleStar]

The Jamaican Police assisted by Airport Security are working to resolve the situation which has been contained up to this time. The aircraft has been isolated and the Sangster International Airport will continue with normal operations.



EagleStar

[DOUGALD]

The BBC are now reporting this incident is over and the gunman is in custody.

[J.O.]

It's now being reported in Canadian media that the hostage taker has been taken into custody by local police. It is not yet known if it ended peacefully or with an armed takedown. A media briefing will take place in the next hour or so. I hope that the CJ crew are all unharmed.

[Huck]

(CNN) -- An armed man, described as "mentally challenged," took six crew members hostage after he barged onto a passenger jet at a Jamaican airport Monday and demanded to be flown to Cuba.

A hostage-taker commandeered a CanJet flight at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The gunman, believed to be in his early 20s, released all passengers and two members of the crew from the CanJet plane but negotiations continued Monday morning at Sangster International Airport in the resort city of Montego Bay to secure the remaining crew members' release.

"The hijacking is that from a mentally challenged youngster and not anything that would be of concern in terms of an international incident," said Jamaica's Information Minister Daryl Vaz.

"His demand was to go to Cuba," he said.

CanJet Airlines flight 918 was carrying 174 passengers and eight crew members, said Kent Woodside, the airline's vice president. All the passengers are Canadian, he said.

The Boeing 737 flew in from Halifax, Canada, and had made a scheduled landing at Montego Bay, when the armed man boarded the plane late Sunday, the airline said. It was scheduled to continue on to Santa Clara, Cuba.

The gunman fired a shot in the boarding bridge to the plane as he entered, Woodside said.

He then took an undisclosed number of passengers and crew members hostage, said Elizabeth Scotton, a spokeswoman for the company that manages the airport.

All but six were released unhurt.

Two of the six crew members who remained inside the plane Monday locked themselves in the cockpit, Vaz said.

Among those negotiating with the man were his father and Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who flew in by helicopter. The country's minister of national security also was at hand.

"We are relieved that all the passengers involved in this incident are safe as well as two crew members, and our top priority is to provide the safe release of the remaining crew members," Woodside said.

The passengers were taken to a hotel, Vaz said. The airport was shut down.

Christian Gosselin, a passenger on the flight, told his father that the gunman demanded cash from the plane's occupants. Vaz confirmed the account.

"The guy wanted to have all their money," said Gosselin's father, Alphonse. "He (my son) told his girlfriend to take all the money and just take her passport and credit card and put it in her back pocket."

Christian Gosselin was part of a 25-person wedding party. He and his girlfriend were released by the hostage-taker, and they spoke to his father in New Brunswick, Canada, while waiting for another flight.

"I didn't ask them too many questions; I was more concerned for their safety," the father said. "They were a bit shaken up. It was quite an experience."

Another passenger, Brenda Grenier, called her husband and said the man apparently got aboard the plane as airport workers were loading bags.

Grenier and her daughter were safe, her husband said by phone from his home in Nova Scotia, Canada.

[Check Airman]

Great job to the Jamaican authorities for diffusing the situation without anybody getting hurt.:D I must remember to take internet news with a grain of salt though, as the first post had a pilot dead.

I suppose he must not have been a very bright lad though, as he demanded to be taken to Cuba, which was a scheduled stop:ugh:

[YHZChick]

CanJet praises crew of hijacked flight

By DAN ARSENAULT and PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG Staff Reporters
Mon. Apr 20 - 11:14 AM
A CanJet executive lauded the efforts of the crew on board a plane that was hijacked late Sunday night in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

"I'd like to praise the professionalism and bravery of our crew who, while trained to deal with this serious incident, would have hoped never to dealt with this reality," Kent Woodside, vice-president and general manager of CanJet, told reporters after the gunman's arrest.

Eight crew members — Capt. James Murphy, flight attendants Heidi Tofflemire and Nicole Rogers and air care security officer Garry Knickle, all of Halifax, along with First officer Glenn Johnson, of Montreal, and flight attendants Anu Goswami; Tony Bettencourt, Carolina Santizo Arriola, all from the Toronto region — were on board CanJet flight 918 when a lone gunman hijacked the plane in Jamaica on Sunday night.

The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 174 Canadian passengers and was destined for Halifax, after a stopover in Santa Clara, Cuba, to drop off vacationers.

The passengers and two crew members were released early this morning, but six crew members remained on board with the gunman until he was arrested by Jamaican authorities this morning.

The crew are getting medical attention as a precaution, but they were all unharmed, Mr. Woodside said.

"We are extremely concerned for the well-being of everyone involved in this incident and our priority now is to provide comfort and support to the passengers and crew who were involved in this ordeal," Mr. Woodside said at the 10 a.m. news conference.

Another CanJet plane had just left Montreal for Toronto, he said, to pick up additional crew to fly to Montego Bay this afternoon.

That plane will pick up the affected passengers, continue to Cuba and drop off those who want to begin their vacations and bring the remainder home to Halifax. When exactly they will return has not yet been determined.

Mr. Woodside said CanJet is working with Jamaican authorities to uncover the security breach.

[Mark in CA]

Jamaican police storm airliner to capture gunman (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090420/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_jamaica_airplane_hijacked_22)

KINGSTON, Jamaica – A gunman forced his way though airport security onto a Canadian jet near Montego Bay, holding six crew members hostage for eight hours before police and soldiers stormed the aircraft on Monday and captured him.

Nobody was killed or injured in the ordeal, which ended with a raid after talks broke down with a 20-year-old Jamaican gunman described as "mentally challenged."

[Latearrival]

Just heard an interview with a pax on CBC radio. He said the guy actually shot at the captain and missed. It also sounded like the cabin crew were instrumental in achieving a good outcome.

[Rockhound]

Latearrival,
If you're referring to the pax interviewed on CBC Radio's The Current, I got the distinct impression that he was a bit of a nutcase himself. He claimed the captain's face was blackened by gunpowder from the shot fired at him.:hmm:
According to another source, the hijacker fired the shot out of the aircraft's open door at no one in particular and the pilots were on the flight deck behind a locked door.
I think it'll be a while before all the facts are in.
Rockhound

[YHZChick]

I know it's hard to say what you'd do, since we're not in that position, but I find it odd that the captain departed the plane with the pax, leaving his FO and cabin crew in danger.

As the Captain, I would feel an obligation to stay with my crew until the situation was resolved.

[bubbers44]

Why? So the hijacker could make you take off and fly into buildings?

[YHZChick]

Why? Because it's the Captain who is ultimately responsible for the safety of all pax and crew.

[Johnny767]

I would be an extremely tough choice, but the advice has always been:

If escape is available, take it.

The Aircraft is useless, without Pilots.

[16024]

Yes, that is the advice always given to us, pragmatic or heartless depending on your point of view.
Well done all.

[Latearrival]

CTV.ca news report: (Sheds light on why the Captain left the airplane)










Officers entered hijacked plane through cockpit

The armed gunman who hijacked a CanJet plane in Jamaica was captured after tactical officers used a cockpit window to board the aircraft, CTV News has learned.

The first officer was the only one in the locked cockpit when members of the Jamaican Defence Force moved in to capture the gunman.
"They were able to open the window, get him (the pilot) out and put themselves in," CTV's Rosemary Thompson reported Tuesday from Jamaica.
"They were able to do this without the knowledge of the hijacker."
Thompson said sources confirmed that the officers were able to lure the hijacker to the cockpit, which he thought still contained members of the flight crew.
"Based on his behaviour, we assumed that he thought that there were members of the flight crew inside the cockpit, because he continued to knock on the door, demanding that the door be opened so that the aircraft would take off," said Jamaican National Security Minister Dwight Nelson....

[bubbers44]

If there was a chance to lock the cockpit door then going out the copilots window would be the best way to disable the aircraft. Leaving the FO must have been done for a reason but a locked cockpit door leaves the hijacker unable to procede with his plan. It would be easy to disable the APU so if he was a pilot he would not be able to start it. I have a feeling the FO was in back when the captain locked the cockpit door as he should have. Leaving the airplane with the cockpit door locked removed any possibility of flight. The FO couldn't have been forced to start it with no APU. They did a great job.

[Rockhound]

According to the latest reports on the CBC, eventually both pilots were replaced on the flight deck by security personnel. When the hijacker was finally admitted to the cockpit, he was overpowered. Trebles all round!!
Rockhound:ok:

[tuskegee airman]

Beginning with post #28 it seems the assumption is that ...."the captain departed the plane with the pax, leaving his FO and cabin crew in danger."
Could he simply have been off the aircraft (walk-around perhaps) when this whole thing started? F/O left in cockpit loading FMC.

Not making sense that hijacker would release the person he NEEDED to fly him to his destination. Nor am I accepting that the COMMANDER would bail on his crew at earliest opportunity.

[bubbers44]

Locking the bullet proof cockpit door and if able go out the windows makes the aircraft unflyable. Now the police can deal with it like a building hostage situation. Since 9-11 we don't do things like we did that day. I didn't agree with what we did then but had to do it because it was, then, procedure. This mentally challenged person got through Jamaican security on a plane with a gun. We shouldn't even be thinking of judging the crew on what they did. How did he get on the aircraft with a gun forcing them to fly to their scheduled destination? Next time just buy a ticket.

[RatherBeFlying]

It was decades ago, but as I recall a PanAm crew vacated the cockpit in Pakistan.

It was stated at the time that this is a quick way of disabling the a/c.

But these days there's all sorts of MSFS experts who might fancy giving it a go:}

I don't know about disabling the APU. Don't you have to leave it on to keep the cockpit door locked?

[Huck]

This gives me a chance to bring up a personal hero: Captain Bacos of the Entebbe hijacking. From Wikipedia:

The hijackers deliberately sorted the hostages into Jew and Gentiles.[3] As they did so a Holocaust survivor showed Böse a camp registration number tattooed on his arm, Böse protested "I'm no Nazi! ... I am an idealist."[3] The hijackers held the passengers hostage for a week in the transit hall of Entebbe Airport (now the old terminal). Some hostages were released, but 105 Israelis and French Jews remained captive.[4] The hijackers threatened to kill them if Israel did not comply with their demands.
Upon the announcement by the hijackers that the airline crew and non-Jewish passengers would be released and put on another Air France plane that had been brought to Entebbe for that purpose, the flight captain Michel Bacos told the hijackers that all passengers, including the remaining ones, were his responsibility, and that he would not leave them behind. Bacos' entire crew followed suit. A French nun also refused to leave, insisting that one of the remaining hostages take her place, but she was forced into the awaiting Air France plane by Ugandan soldiers.[5] A total of 83 Israeli and/or Jewish hostages remained, as well as 20 others, most of whom included the crew of the Air France plane.

[bubbers44]

RBF:

Yes, the cockpit door lock will disengage but they can't start the jet. The APU is the only way to start without external pneumatics. This procedure can be done from the ground.

[piravlos01]

I guess hijackers are terrorists or "mental challenged" people.
In case the pilots leave from the airplane, wouldn't be possible for the hijacker to start shooting hostages until pilots come onboard?

[Rollingthunder]

I guess hijackers are terrorists or "mental challenged" people.
In case the pilots leave from the airplane, wouldn't be possible for the hijacker to start shooting hostages until pilots come onboard?

1/ Yes they are.

2/ More likely a crack team of anti-mentally challenged police sharpshooters with guns a'chattering.

[Johnny767]

Before leaving the Flight Deck, there are ways to make the Aircraft un-flyable.

The last thing you want, is the Aircraft 'in the air.' Short of a place like Jamaica, NO one is going to let an Airplane take off, in a post 9-11 world.

[Check Airman]

"Short of a place like Jamaica, NO one is going to let an Airplane take off, in a post 9-11 world."

Johnny767, what makes you think the Jamaican authorities would have allowed the plane to depart?:ugh:

[tuskegee airman]

The following newspaper article explains what transpired. The "Jamaica Observer" is one of the Island's daily papers.




Surveillance cameras capture hijack drama
BY MARK CUMMINGS Observer West senior reporter
Thursday, April 23, 2009
MONTEGO BAY, St James
Contrary to reports that 21-year-old hijacker Stephen Fray slipped undetected through the Sangster International Airport's security system, security cameras recorded a rather different train of events.
http://jamaicaobserver.com/westernnews/images/20090423T010000-0500_150001_OBS_CAUGHT_ON_CAMERA__1.jpg
According to the camera replay, Fray entered the departure hall and peered into the flight information display screen before approaching an AJAS representative at about 10:15 pm on Sunday.
"I want to leave the island on a flight," he reportedly told the surprised worker at the check-in counter, who informed him that he could not make it on the CanJet flight 918 destined for Halifax, Canada, because he did not have a ticket.
The representative then advised that there were no more scheduled flights for the night, before excusing herself through the staff entrance to the boarding gate to board legitimate passengers.
Undaunted, the slender Fray, dressed in a dark, long sleeved 'T- shirt and matching shorts, proceeded to the security checkpoint through the staff entrance.
He had no form of identification card nor did he carry hand luggage. When the security guards - all female - asked him for his travel documents, he pulled a gun from his waistband and barged past.
Within seconds, the frightened guards took evasive action and alerted the police who gave immediate chase.
However, Fray gained the advantage and within minutes boarded the aircraft where he held the 159 passengers and six crew members hostage.
Legal experts yesterday suggested Fray was aided - in part - by international civil avation rules which prohibit the discharge of firearms within the airport.
None of the passengers aboard the flight, who were released about 30 minutes after the ordeal started, nor the crew members who were held for about eight hours - were hurt.
The hijacker, who was taken into police custody, was up to press time still being interrogated by investigators. He has yet to be charged

[PositiveRate876]

"Short of a place like Jamaica, NO one is going to let an Airplane take off, in a post 9-11 world."

Johnny767, what makes you think the Jamaican authorities would have allowed the plane to depart?:ugh:


The JDF may not have F16s to shoot the airliner out of the air like the US, but to make a statement such as yours is ignorant to say the least.

The aircraft was parked at Gate 7, and requires pushback from the gate.

[bubbers44]

Thats right, most airlines aren't doing powerbacks out of the gate any more with reverse thrust like we did 15 years ago. The hijacker probably knew he couldn't get fired for doing it anyway. The crew did what any of us would have done and left the flight deck.

[hawk37]

"Before leaving the Flight Deck, there are ways to make the Aircraft un-flyable"

Johnny, what sort of action from the flight deck would make an aircraft unflyable? Pardon my ignorance, but I can't think of many short of sawing off the yokes, or punching out a forward windscreen. But tools would be needed for that.

[PositiveRate876]

Certain switches can be reset, circuit breakers pulled.
I don't think you can make all aircraft types un-flyable per se, but you sure can make an airplane difficult to get going for someone that doesn't have type specific knowledge.

[J.O.]

A crash axe will do wonders on the tire valve stems.

[MD11Engineer]

Bubbers44, Reply#37:
Locking the bullet proof cockpit door and if able go out the windows makes the aircraft unflyable. Now the police can deal with it like a building hostage situation. Since 9-11 we don't do things like we did that day. I didn't agree with what we did then but had to do it because it was, then, procedure. This mentally challenged person got through Jamaican security on a plane with a gun. We shouldn't even be thinking of judging the crew on what they did. How did he get on the aircraft with a gun forcing them to fly to their scheduled destination? Next time just buy a ticket.


I remember a case back in the early 1990s, when a psychartric challenged person (actually from what I remember, he was an escapee from a mental hospital) climbed over the barbed wire fence at Berlin's TXL airport, right beside the main security checkpoint and ran to a nearby parked Fokker 100 to smash it with a hammer he brought along, causing quite a bit of damage before he could be subdued.
The guy, apparently not aware of getting hurt by the barbed wire, climbed over the fence so fast that it took the security guards and cops at the checkpoint by surprise. They ran after him, but could not catch him before he caused damage.
Imagine this guy had had a gun instead of a carpenter's hammer.