View Full Version : Hijacking over India
It has just been reported that an aircraft in India has been hijacked.
More news to come as time goes on I guess.
I hope everyone is OK!
Airbubba
4th Oct 2001, 00:17
CNN is reporting that the plane was an Alliance 737 with 54 pax on board flying BOM-DEL. It is on the ground in DEL, the pilot has asked for two engineers to come on board.
I just heard all the pax have been let out, hopefully this will come to a pieceful end!
Mr Benn
4th Oct 2001, 00:20
Plane hijacked in India
Reports say an Alliance Air Boeing 737 has been hijacked on its way from Bombay to New Delhi.
The Minister for Civil Aviation Shahnawaz Hussain confirmed the plane is a state-run Alliance Air 737.
Air traffic control in New Delhi say the plane landed safely and all passengers are safe.
There are reports the plane has been surrounded by armed commandos and that officials are in contact with the hijackers.
Local media report there are 52 people on board.
(c) Copyright Ananova Ltd 2001, all rights reserved.
Airbubba
4th Oct 2001, 00:21
More from the Times of India:
MUMBAI TO DELHI PLANE HIJACKED
NEW DELHI: A Boeing 737 belonging to India's state-run Alliance Air, with 52 people on board, was hijacked just after take off from Mumbai early Thursday, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shahnawaz Hussain said.
The Minister said a hijack distress call had been received by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in New Delhi where the plane had landed at around 1 a.m.
The Times of India received a distress call from a passenger of the hijacked aircraft.
The aircraft, on its way to Delhi, was hijacked after passing Ahmedabad, initial reports said. The plane, with 46 passengers and 6 crew on board, departed from Mumbai at 11:15 pm.
The Alliance Air is a subsidiary of the Indian Airlines.
The plane is now parked at an isolated bay runway 27 of the airport.
Police and fire vehicles have rushed towards the site.
tech...again
4th Oct 2001, 00:21
From the BBC:
Indian airport authorities say they have received reports that plane belonging to the state-owned Alliance Air flying from Bombay to New Delhi has been hijacked.
The plane is now reported to have landed in New Delhi, but no additional information about the hijacking is immediately available.
The private Indian television station Star News has reported that all 54 passengers are safe but remain on board the plane, which is parked at an isolated area at Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The TV station added that the plane was surrounded by police.
The hijack reportedly took place just after the Boeing-737 took off from Bombay.
The world has been on high security alert since the 11 September attacks in the US, when four planes in US domestic flights were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center's twin towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.
:mad: :mad:
Airbubba
4th Oct 2001, 00:49
Latest reports indicate two hijackers demanding that the plane be flown to Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh, in India near the Nepali border. Lucknow is less than 300 miles from DEL.
I just heard it was a false alarm, some one phoned it in. I guess we will know more in the morning. I am just pleased everyone is OK!
pigboat
4th Oct 2001, 04:02
Just saw this on another BB. Apparently someone on the aircraft used their cell phone to make a call that the aircraft had been hijacked. ATC informed the cockpit crew of the call, they locked the cockpit door and squawked 7500. The cabin crew assumed the hijackers were in the cockpit, and the vice versa. Apparently, everything has been straightened out, and everyone has gone for a beer. :o
rsoman
4th Oct 2001, 06:59
It is a false alarm. However it was confirmed after the commandoes entered the
aircraft! The minister has now come on the TV blaming it on ATC! http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/oct/03aa5.htm
TK
xsimba
4th Oct 2001, 10:30
Iain,
Luckily this had a peaceful end rather than end in pieces!
sprocket
4th Oct 2001, 10:49
At least the outcome was better than anticipated.
I would say that somebody will be getting an extra helping of curry for that effort!
I refer to this …..
The civil aviation minister assured that the government was taking all steps to ensure that such incidents did not recur.
Those responsible for the false alarm would not be spared, he added.
Luckily this had a peaceful end rather than end in pieces!
LOL, it was late last night when this went up. Also is it not said that you should never trust a pilot who can spell? That is why the tests (atleast in the US) are all multiple choice!
gyrohead
4th Oct 2001, 14:24
Red faces all around then!
Apparent Indian aircraft hijack a false alarm
Last updated: 04-10-01, 06:36
An apparent hijack on an Indian airliner turned out to be a false alarm today.
Senior ministers were dragged from their beds for crisis talks and commandos surrounded the aircraft ready to storm it.
Civil Aviation Minister Mr Shahnawaz Hussain blamed confusion between the pilots of the Alliance Air domestic flight from Bombay to Delhi and air traffic controllers (ATC) in the western town of Ahmedabad.
"It was not a mock exercise or a planned exercise. We had assumed that the plane had been hijacked and the prime minister was also awake and was being informed," he told reporters after the 52 people on board the Boeing 737 had left the plane.
"It was a false alarm. The confusion arose between ATC Ahmedabad and the pilots," he said, adding the air traffic controllers had received an anonymous call suggesting that the aircraft was going to be hijacked.
The civil aviation minister said the air traffic controllers had contacted the pilot after receiving the anonymous call. The pilots were sealed off inside the cockpit.
One passenger who said he was an official wanted to go inside the cockpit and due to that, confusion arose between the pilot and the passengers about hijackers being on board, he said.
The incident, which brought police, ambulances and anxious relatives to Delhi airport, was the first reported hijack since the September 11th suicide attacks in the United States.
:mad: :D
xsimba
4th Oct 2001, 19:57
Sorry Iain - I just couldn't resist! At least the outcome of this particular event means that we don't have to take it too seriously. :p
El Grifo
5th Oct 2001, 01:04
I hate to muddy the waters here guys, but I first hear this story on the afternoon of Oct 2nd and posted it under Air India vs. The Taleban. are we talking coincidence here, or delay in releasing information. check out the threadAir India vs. The Taleban
rsoman
5th Oct 2001, 07:25
Elgrifo, what you "heard" was fiction. There was no incident on Oct02.The one which we are discussing here was that of the Alliance Air red eye flight between Bombay and Delhi which departed Bombay at 11 PM on the 3rd
of October.Alliance Air is a subsidiary of Indian Airlines which operates hand me down 737s from the parent company.
Your thread was just a rumour and nothing else.
TK.
Airbubba
5th Oct 2001, 11:33
Friday October 5 2:34 AM ET
India Newspapers Mock Hijack Comedy of Terror
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian newspapers heaped scorn on Friday on senior security officials' handling of a supposed mid-air hijacking that turned into a false alarm.
The hijacking that never was led to ministers being roused from their beds just before midnight on Wednesday and crack commandos storming the Boeing 737 plane with 52 people on board.
"Hijackass,'' blared a front-page headline in the Indian Express. "Goof-ups galore in hijack farce,'' read another headline in the Hindustan Times. "Predawn hijack a comedy of terror,'' said the Times of India.
The papers wanted to know why officials kept on believing the flight to Delhi from Bombay had been seized long after commandos stormed the cockpit and found no hijackers and passengers told relatives on mobile phones all was normal inside the cabin.
The drama broadcast live on nationwide television began when an air traffic control center got an anonymous telephone call warning the flight would be hijacked.
The message was transmitted to the pilots who locked the cockpit door and landed in Delhi where the plane was ringed by police, commando units and fire engines.
They then sat closeted in the cockpit for nearly three hours believing the hijackers were in the cabin while the crew thought they were in the cockpit.
At one point Civil Aviation Secretary A.HJ. Jung went on TV to say there were "two hijackers who spoke broken English.''
"Instead of expressing the view the 'crisis management machinery was in good condition...,' (civil aviation minister) Shahnawaz Hussain should be asking why a cloud of misinformation was left hanging for so long,'' the Hindustan Times said.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who was awoken in the middle of the night over the crisis, has "expressed displeasure'' at the hijack scare and has ordered a probe into how it happened.
Security authorities in India have been on edge since New Delhi threw its backing behind the U.S. war on terrorism after the air attacks on New York and Washington, fearing reprisals.
Officials said an intelligence warning had been received only two days earlier that a hijacking was imminent.
But newspapers said that security officials' jumpiness was excessive.
"It took one phone call for a nation to break into a sweat,'' the Hindustan Times said. "One needs to look beyond the sense of relief over the hoax and come to terms with how a country that prides itself for its technological prowess...found itself on the wrong end of a very unfunny joke.''
Airbubba
5th Oct 2001, 11:46
Although this incident is somewhat comical in retrospect, the inevitability of confusion in a relayed message was explored recently on another thread about shooting down hijacked airliners.
From www.newindpress.com (http://www.newindpress.com) :
Exclusive: 'You will be hijacked soon': ATC
NEW DELHI: The transcripts of the conversation between the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Ahmedabad and Delhi on Tuesday night clearly show that the former was informed of the hoax call, contrary to what Ahmedabad airport director R C Chitkara has been quoted as saying.
More importantly, when the Delhi ATC spoke to its Ahmedabad counterpart and when it in turn spoke to th pilot, there was no mention that it was an anonymous call and that verification was being done. Instead, "the plane will be hijacked,'' was the refrain.
The excerpts, obtained by this website's newspaperr, confirm that the Delhi ATC directed the Ahmedabad ATC to alert pilot Ashwini Behl and co-pilot Sameer Sahay that the plane "will be hijacked'' and he should follow the drill. The pilot then pressed the 5700 button in panic, signalling a hijack.
Immediately after an anonymous call was received on 5671197 (Operations department of Alliance Air), the supervisor on duty informed the Watch Security Officer (WSO) at ATC Delhi, the MD of Alliance Air, Anil Goel, and the Director-General of Civil Aviation. He also contacted Veeranna Aivalli, Commissioner of Security of Civil Aviation (COSCA), who asked him to instruct the pilot to lock the cockpit from inside and take all precautions. The following are some excerpts from the conversations:
WSO, Delhi (ATC): Hello, Area Control, Ahmedabad ALFA: Yes, this is Area Ahmedabad
WSO, Delhi: Can I speak to the duty officer? ALFA: Just a minute...Who is this?
WSO: This is WSO, Delhi. ALFA: Yes, This is duty officer.
WSO: Who is this? ALFA: This is Tuli, sir (L K Tuli)
WSO: Tuli, I have just got a message. Alliance should be in contact with you. We got a message it will be hijacked. ALFA: Oh, OK
WSO: Since you may talk to the aircraft, just tell him the situation. This is a message from the Commissioner of Civil Aviation Security. All possible precaution has to be taken by the pilot. ALFA: OK Sir.
WSO: If you find everything normal, you just get back to me. ALFA: OK Sir.
(Within minutes, ATC Ahmedabad passed on the message to the pilot over the radar frequency.)
ALFA: This is Area Ahmedabad. Pilot: I am fine.
ALFA: There is a message from COSCA. Something is seriously wrong. Pilot: Shoot.
ALFA: The aircraft will be hijacked soon. A message had been received at Delhi. You have to take all precautionary steps. The message is that you lock the cockpit. Pilot: My god!
(Later, after this conversation.)
ALFA: Is it Delhi ? WSO: Yes. This is Delhi.
ALFA: Sir, Tuli this side WSO: Yes Tuli ALFA: We have already passed the message to Alliance that the plane will be hijacked. WSO: OK
but I first hear this story on the afternoon of Oct 2nd and posted it under Air India vs. The Taleban
I thought your post was refering to the events in Dec 99 where a pro taliban group hijacked an Air India aircraft.
El Grifo
5th Oct 2001, 22:21
No Iain, as stated, I heard this story from a associate in Germany on the afternoon of October 2nd. The connectivity is the part about the flightcrew refusing to open the doors to the flightdeck. I guess it must have been a coincedence but, as a dyed in the wool cynic, I am left wondering ........ :confused:
Shall we make a big deal out of nothing?? How did you know about it on the 2nd, when what we are talking about did not take place until the 3rd.
Also as you mentioned in the other post about 'dealyed information' if that is the case how come you are ont only wrong about the airline, the organization, the state of the passengers, etc,
I'm a bit puzzled [nothing new].
Obviously I don't want to see secure information posted, but what public domain best practice should Delhi ATC have followed?
They adopted a safety first approach.
Obviously flight deck kept to themselves as they might have felt any inquiry to the pax area might spark off the impending situation.
Post 11-Sep as SLF I'd prefer a three hour hold than being dead because ATC Delhi preferred to cover it's ass before notifying Ahmedabad...
It's not as if it was a long A340 flight where a little more time might be had to think of something...
:confused:
rsoman
7th Oct 2001, 16:52
Seach for the scapegoats appears to have started
From www.newindpress.com (http://www.newindpress.com)
Pilot asked for flight plan to Lahore, Karachi
NEW DELHI: Even as the first heads began to roll over last Wednesday's hijack that wasn't _ Alliance Air withdrawing from operations the entire six-member crew on board CD-7444 _ it now transpires that pilot Ashwini Behl not only pressed the hijack alert in panic, he also asked Air Traffic Control for the flight plan to Lahore and Karachi.
Civil Aviation minister Shahnawaz Hussain told this website's newspaper that not only had Behl asked for the flight plan while in the air, he also indicated the amount of fuel left in the plane.
"We asked him why he asked for such a flight plan when none had asked him to take the plane there, he replied that he had done so as a contingency measurers'', Hussain said.
All this, and other facts, emerged at a closed-door meeting held yesterday between Hussain and Anil Goel, MD of Alliance Air, aviation security chief Veeranna Aivalli, the six crew members and other senior officials.
Another little-known fact to emerge was that Alliance Air had hired _ apparently undue haste _ 250-odd extra pilots, cabin crew and others to service five aircraft it was to get on lease. The leased aircraft never came but the staff continued in service.
Behl is reported to have admitted that he had panicked and did everything wrong in the heat of moment. The cabin crew gave the same explanation and added that oneof the two passengers who were creating problems in the aircraft was drunk.
In addition to punishing the crew, the plane's black-box and flight data recorder have been transcribed to facilitate the inquiry committee to find out what exactly happened during the four-hour drama and who did what. Another issue raised at the meeting was the absence of sky marshals on the flight, given the intelligence information about a possible hijack from Lucknow.
********
TK
El Grifo
7th Oct 2001, 19:21
Iain
Relax Amigo,
This is a "Rumours" site, not "News at Ten"
My name is El Grifo, not Reggie Bosanquet. :cool:
Analyser
9th Oct 2001, 00:21
The flight and cabin crew were ejected from the airline on october 4 due to the fiasco for which they were to blame.