Essex Police officers leave the PIA Boeing 777 aircraft on the tarmac at Stansted Airport. PHOTO: REUTERS
Britain scrambled Typhoon fighter jets to escort a Pakistan International Airlines plane following reports of an onboard scuffle on Friday.
The British fighters escorted PIA flight PK709 to Stansted Airport near London, where police went on board and arrested two men on suspicion of endangering the aircraft. Flight PK709 from Lahore had been due to land at Manchester in northern England with 297 passengers on board, but was diverted shortly before arrival.
Britain is on high alert after a soldier was hacked to death on a London street on Wednesday in what the government is treating as a terrorist incident.
Stansted is one of London’s less busy airports, preferred as a location for handling airplane security incidents. A spokesperson for the airport said the plane was being held in an isolated area and that the rest of the airport was operating as normal. Passengers were leaving the plane and no one was hurt in the incident, the spokesperson added.
A passenger who had just got off the plane told the BBC the pilot had informed passengers after landing that he had diverted to Stansted because of threats. The passenger, named by the BBC as Mr Munsif, said two men had been handcuffed on board and removed.
“We landed safely and then he announced that they had some kind of threat from someone and that’s why he landed the plane,” the passenger said, speaking by telephone.
“Essex Police have boarded a passenger plane diverted to Stansted Airport and two men have been arrested on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft. They have been removed from the plane,” the police said in a statement.
“The two men arrested on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft are aged 30 and 41. They are being taken to a police station for interviewing by detectives,” they added.
Police said they are treating the incident as criminal in nature rather that terror-related.
“It’s a criminal investigation under the direction of Essex police,” Superintendent Darrin Tomkins told reporters at Stansted. Asked if it could be terror related, he added: “This incident is being treated as a criminal offence.”
“The plane will remain at its current location and will subject to forensic examination by specialist officers. At this point in time no suspicious items have been recovered,” Tomkins maintained.
According to TV channels, the plane was later cleared by the police and would depart for Manchester shortly
Details emerge
According to PIA officials, flight PK709 was diverted from Manchester to Stansted Airport after two passengers threatened the crew.
“British fighter jets were scrambled after the pilot informed the control tower that a passenger was trying to get inside the cockpit,” they added.
A PIA statement issued late Friday evening read: “The flight in UK airspace was diverted to Stansted airport after a PIA crew member, upon receiving a threat from two passengers, informed the flight captain.”
“The captain of the aircraft immediately contacted UK air traffic control and received directions to land at Stansted Airport,” it added. The statement further said the two passengers have been taken into custody and investigations were underway. Their identities have not been disclosed.
A PIA spokesperson Mashood Tajwar said that it was too soon to say anything about nature of the threat. “At the moment we know that UK police is interrogating the passengers. Both the passengers are UK nationals.” He did not say whether anyone tried to enter the cockpit.
There were conflicting reports of what actually happened aboard the aircraft. Some said that a brawl between a few passengers and the crew turned into threats to take down the plane.
“I have been told that someone was trying to get inside the cockpit,” said another PIA official. “Someone said something about blowing up the plane and then there was confusion.”
Captain Nadeem Sufi, who was in command of the flight, had no option but to inform the airport authorities, he added.
According to PIA officials, arrangements were being made to transport the passengers stranded at Stansted airport to Manchester.
Aviation industry officials say that heightened security alert in the UK added to the confusion. “This seems like a small incident blown out of proportion. It is PIA’s bad luck that it has to be under the spot light in such circumstances,” said an industry veteran. “But the pilot did the right thing. Pakistan cannot afford to take chances.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2013.
COMMENTS (41)
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But why "jets"? Is one fighter jet not enough? This seems an exagerated response to fear!
@np
That was a good one @Maria.
@Maria: Not UK. Asians Ma'm. UK Pakistanis. It is quite annoying that even the media refers to South Asians every time Pakistanis misbehave when it has nothing to do with Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Nepalis etc.
“I have been told that someone was trying to get inside the cockpit,” said another PIA official. “Someone said something about blowing up the plane and then there was confusion.” . If true then the term "overplayed" doesn't seem appropriate - perhaps ET should consider revising it's attention getting headline.
The crew did the right thing by informing the ATC and avoiding any untoward accident and eventually landing the plane in isolated location escorted by British jets. Those culprits should be charged with terror threat and exploding the plane. Maximum penalty should be given to them including the prices incurred to divert the plane.
Those uneducated and pathetic people brought a bad name to Pakistan and its national airline. Given the conditions and options, the crew did the right thing and an example should be set to prevent these incidents happening in future. Hats off to Captain for his brave decision rather than cowed by the threat.
Never again!! Will there be a re-run of 9/11 not in US or anywhere in the West.
@Karachiwala: Well said.
The two men must have got into an argument with the stewards/stewardesses and that must have exploded in the minds of the PIA cabin crew. It just shows we are experts at making, "A mountain out of a molehill." Salams
There is no excuse for such criminal behavior as fighting on board an air borne flight. The Captain did the right thing to save the lives of countless other passengers who were unlucky enough to be travelling with two criminals. However the passengers were very lucky to have such a brave and responsible captain who reported the incident, as per Standard Operating Procedures of an air borne flight under duress. I say this flight captain should be given a raise in salary, as a gesture of appreciation. He did his duty well.
One-sided story. Judgment premature. Wait for version of accused. Question: How could two unarmed overwhelm the entire crew?
The day is not far when pia will give tickets to passengers on arrival like bus stations, the cockpit will be decorated like the interior of karachi busses and "jhooley laal" will be written on the body of planes
@Schabboo Khan: Believe me had the plane not been in contact with air traffic control tower or not followed their instructions it would've been shot by the typhoons. West's post 9/11 way of handling hijacking threats....specially from Islamic countries.
@Polpot: Nobody uses JF17 except pakistan, not even china. Oh maybe Ethiopia
@Karachiwala:
Seems like IK didnt tip you well. Dont be heart-broken.
The pilot took the right call! making bomb threats mid-air is a very serious offense and any such threat should be taken very seriously. If this had happened in the USA, people would have showered the pilot with praises and called him a hero.
Over-reactive (s)crew.
Probably some Pakistani VIPs who thought they could order the crew around. Now we will see if anything happens to the crew later.
@Schabboo Khan:
The fighter jets scrambling was developed after the 9/11 incident where the hijacked planes were used as missiles to hit strategic, economic and population targets. The idea now is to shoot the plane down if it shows signs of hitting sensitive targets that can do a whole lot of damage. The idea is to minimize human, economic and strategic loss.
@Schabboo Khan: Yes, the purpose of scrambling fighter jets is to tail the plane and to shoot it down if and when instructions are received from ground control. These instructions will be received when there is a high likelihood that the plane is headed for a suicide mission (as on 9/11)
Again a incident whose worst sufferer will be Pakistan and its ordinary citizens. Can't we even behave as civilized people on a plane more importantly in a foreign country? We already have no respect in international community, have to stand days just for a damn visa, and still we haven't learnt to act normally. Why should normal citizens suffer due to the actions of their countrymen?
@Schabboo Khan: If they do suspect that something like 9/11 maybe in the offing they will shoot it down .
Can't blame the Brits, after what happened in London. Here's a thought, maybe someone is "underplaying" it.
@Schabboo Khan: Shoot it down if things go out of hand.
@Schabboo Khan: Any aircraft that deviates from its flight path or does not communicate with air traffic control is escorted by fighter jets. The fighter jets may attempt to communicate visually with the pilot. In case the aircraft deviates from the instructions of the fighter jet pilots, they can shoot the aircraft (including a passenger airliner) down. . This is the protocol in the aftermath of 9/11 to avoid a larger attack using the aircraft as in the case of the twin towers.
@Schabboo Khan: They carry air to air missiles. If the plane were to behave like the 9/11 incident it would be shot down.
Normally the pilots try and make visual contact with the civilian airline pilot to ascertain that he/she's in command.
@Schabboo Khan: The purpose of scrambling the fighter jets is to shoot the plane down in case of it being highjacked and before it is forced it into a heavily populated area. This is common practice in the US and Europe. From pictures of the "escorting" RAF Typhoons, you can see they are fully armed.
Jets are scrambled to shoot down the aircraft, in case the hijackers with a crazed death wish try to use the plane as a WMD and try to ram it into populated areas or buildings.
@Schabboo Khan The reason is that if the plane was hijacked and the hijackers wanted to crash the airplane into Buckingham Palace then the fighters would shoot the airplane down.
@Khan, the jets are there to shoot it down if there is no response from the cockpit or if the pilot does not oblige to what the jet wants it to do.
Were the British jets JF17s? ++++++++++++++++++++++++ PAF should immediately patent this new trend:)
@Schabboo Khan: Yes, potentially they can shoot it down. The idea is to get as close to the aircraft as possible so as to make visual contact with the air crew in the cockpit. For example, if there is a loss of communication between the aircraft and the control tower, jets are scrambled to see whats going on, whether its a technical fault or a hijacking.
Embaressing !
the paranoia !!...
They are scrambled in case the plane has been taken over and could be possibly directed by miscreants, in which case it could be shot down@Schabboo Khan:
I have never understood the logic of scrambling fighter jet to escort an airline. What are they going to do; shoot it down, ram it, force it into space like pushing a car off the road? Can someone clarify please!
I wouldn't at all be surprised if UK Asians were acting rowdy and behaving poorly on the flight. We have all heard horror stories about how they live in the UK where they are often implicated disproportionately in crimes. The problems with UK Asians and UK Muslims in particular stem from unemployment, racism and ghettoization. A good number of them just live on state khayrat since they don't work but live live government gifted council flats. Until UK Muslims integrate themselves in society, they only have themselves to blame for not having jobs. I am sure that bad behaviour, sense of entitlement and self hatred comes from their feelings of inferiority in the UK but they have only themselves to blame. I fully support the PIA crew who called for assistance to deal with these rabble rousers. They think they can abuse PIA staff but they have been taught otherwise.
They were PTI supporter, doing protest of loosing. Ask Imran khan to pay for the damages, and jail these two idiots.
Those two should be charged on criminal offence and send to jail for endangering the aircraft with 297 passenger on board.
Overplayed? After a violent terrorist murder, no one 'jokes' about destroying planes. Sounds like the originating area of the flight is trying to downplay it, quite typically.
Nothing surprising here. This is what the cream of today's Pakistan looks like. We do have a bright future?