Air Berlin B737 escorted into Ciampino
 

Italian TV news reported an incident today (18/11) where an Air Berlin B737 was escorted into Rome Ciampino (its planned destination), after some confusion on the R/T while the aircraft was still somewhere near Venice, led ATC to believe that something was not right... Italian AF scrambled two jets which escorted the B737 into CIA, much to the Captain's surprise...

Any further info.?

No further info, but I've had it on several occasions, to be intercepted by the Italians, for the most stupidist things (for one, ATC don't check fltplns). I guess Italy has a big military budged. Sure Air Berlin had no problems neither, just again a mis understanding from the Italians....



Chocks In, Brakes Off

reports in local media here in Berlin:
Captain reported, that atc sent him into a holding and after his "fuel report" they cleared him to land "on the military part of the airport" (perhaps the words of the journo).
Passengers were forced to stay within a/c "several hours" (I do not believe this), military or police officials searched the complete a/c. The crew was not allowed to fly a/c out of Ciampino, AirBerlin needed another crew.

From the AirBerlin website:
 

"Claims by an Italian official that an alarm was raised because the pilot had inadvertently pushed an emergency button were strongly rejected by Air Berlin.

As there is no emergency button in the cockpit, it could not have been pressed inadvertently."

:p

The full press releases (in German):
http://www.airberlin.com/site/deu/pr...ROWSER=&ID=174

and
http://www.airberlin.com/site/deu/pr...ROWSER=&ID=172

Without going into much detail, I can imagine what could have happened, considering the MODE-A codes assigned to us by certain ATC centres in that area. (Suisse & Munchen)

There are further local newspaper reports here in Berlin.
They tell us, that there are speculations, that some italian scanner "amateur radio operator" listened to the communication a/c <-> atc, misinterpreted something, informed the police who decides to inform the italian airforce and the whole trouble started . . .

edited to add the link.
here is a link (sorry, in german):
http://morgenpost.berlin1.de/inhalt/...ory642534.html