View Full Version : Hijacking Foiled
Taken from SkyNews,
A hijacking attempt on Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from Khartoum to Jeddah was foiled. The hijacker was apparently armed with a pistol.
Mutt
Simon W
15th Oct 2002, 12:27
204 passengers and crew were on board.
"A passenger armed with a pistol hijacked the plane...but special forces on board the flight immediately disarmed and arrested him with help from crew," the airline said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
It said co one was injured.
The aircraft landed safely at Khartoum international airport and that Sudanese authorities were interrogating the hijacker, the airline said.
sanket_patel
15th Oct 2002, 14:12
You can see some pics of the counter terrorist teams storming the plane, they also have pics of the hijackers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/1225154.stm
brabazon
15th Oct 2002, 14:32
Sanket
Why are you posting news from March 2001?
Here's a link to today's Sky news:
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1067348,00.html
planecrazi
15th Oct 2002, 14:41
The link above shows a B747 of Saudi in an old colour scheme, yet the article refers to an Airbus A310. I have just watched Sky News at 14:30utc, and they have shown a B777 with escape shoot 1L deployed somewhere in the world. Three different type of aircraft- does anyone know which aircraft type it was as a matter of interest?:confused:
planecrazi,
Thats not a B777 on SKY, its an A300-600.
sanket_patel,
Your URL points to a completely different hijacking of a Russian airliner IN Saudi Arabia.
Mutt.
Taildragger67
15th Oct 2002, 17:01
Do Saudia actually have any A310s??
planecrazi
15th Oct 2002, 17:15
MUTT: Thank you very much. I watched BBC International and had a chance to see much more and realized it being an A300 type.
Many thanks for the correction.
ironbutt57
15th Oct 2002, 21:23
Whatever...whenever..wherever....somebody is not having much fun at the moment.....
sanket_patel
15th Oct 2002, 21:47
Let me start off by saying: WOOPS... My apologies for that error, I was at yahoo.com and must have clicked on related stories. Again sorry.
PaperTiger
15th Oct 2002, 22:04
Do Saudia actually have any A310s??
No. Never did.
http://www.bird.ch/bharms/airbus/A310_t_0.htm
ETOPS
16th Oct 2002, 08:52
Surely the point is how did the hijacker get on board with a gun?
Well done to the crew/security for resolving this situation safely.
Attempt to hijack Saudia flight foiled
By Saud Al-Tuwaim, Arab News Staff
JEDDAH/KHARTOUM, 16 October — Security officers aboard a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from Khartoum to Jeddah foiled a hijacking attempt by a Saudi gunman yesterday, the airline and Sudanese police said.
Interior Minister Prince Naif said that the hijacker, Adel Nasir Ahmad Faraj, 30, will be extradited to the Kingdom after the Sudanese authorities complete their investigations.
Saudi Ambassador to Sudan Abdullah Mohammed Al-Harithy dismissed suggestions that Faraj had any links with Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network.
Speaking to Arab News from Khartoum, Al-Harithy said he was awaiting results of an investigation by Sudanese security authorities. He said Faraj had registered his passport with the Saudi Embassy about nine months ago. But after the hijack attempt, he told the ambassador that he came from the Kingdom to Sudan nine days ago.
Faraj tried to hijack Saudia Flight No. 450, flying from Khartoum to Jeddah with 185 passengers and a 19-member crew on board. Guards on the aircraft subdued the pistol-toting Saudi who tried to take control of the plane shortly after takeoff from Khartoum airport. "The hijack drama lasted only 15 minutes," Al-Harithy said.
Dr. Khaled ibn Bakr, director general of Saudia, told Arab News that the airline had sent a special plane to Khartoum to pick up the passengers on board the hijacked aircraft, which is expected to reach the Kingdom this morning. Bakr said the incident will not affect Saudia flights to Khartoum. "Our aircraft are guarded by efficient security forces," he added.
Maj. Gen. Hussein Osman, spokesman for Sudanese police, said the would-be hijacker was being interrogated. "Twenty-two minutes after the plane left Khartoum airport, a man armed with a pistol stood up and announced he had hijacked the plane," Saudia said in a press statement. "The captain immediately diverted the plane toward Khartoum while special forces aboard the plane immediately overpowered and disarmed the hijacker with the help of the crew," it added.
On the plane’s landing in Khartoum, the hijacker was handed over to Sudanese authorities. The passengers, crew and security personnel were safe and sound. The plane landed at Khartoum airport at 11:25 a.m. (0925 GMT), about one hour after the hijacking attempt, a spokesman for the airline said.
The Sudanese Interior Ministry said Faraj tried to hijack the Airbus 300 plane about 20 minutes and 70 kilometers after takeoff. The authorities searched the plane for explosives but found nothing, and an investigation has been opened.
State-run Sudanese TV ran footage of the plane at Khartoum airport, showing emergency exit slides that were used to evacuate the passengers, as well as sniffer dogs and blue-uniformed security forces in action.
ETOPS
The answer to your question is.....................
Three Sudanese nationals have also been arrested in connection with the case. They include a merchant in an Omdurman market who sold the pistol used in the attempt, a middleman and a Khartoum airport employee who allegedly helped Faraj to evade security and smuggle the pistol onto the plane.
It's interesting to note that.....
The hijacker denied any relationship or sympathy with Al-Qaeda or any other extremist group, the daily reported. but wanted to "Faraj said he had some problems that he wanted to announce to the media. At one point (during interrogation) he said he wanted to hijack the aircraft to London and at another point said he wanted to take it to Doha, Qatar."
Full story is available at http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=19492
Mutt.