Jet lands in Halifax after false hijack alert...what was the US involvement

[Scoobie Newbie]

Last Updated Fri, 03 Jun 2005 13:03:28 EDT
CBC News
A Virgin Atlantic airplane with 289 people on board landed in Halifax Friday morning, escorted by two Canadian fighter jets, after being diverted from its New York destination over a hijacking scare.

The aircraft touched down in Atlantic Canada just after noon local time, letting a police SWAT on board to confirm there was no danger to the passengers and crew.

 
Police leave Virgin Atlantic plane in Halifax.  
"It looked like a fighter jet ahead of it and one behind it, and we saw it land," said Chris Lipsit, who works on a ground maintenance crew at the airport.

He said the two CF-18s circled around a couple of times before flying off.

Shortly after leaving London's Heathrow Airport en route for New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, the airplane began broadcasting an internationally recognized hijacking alert, code 7500.

The pilot assured airline and aviation officials that his aircraft was not being hijacked, however.

Virgin Atlantic is blaming a mechanical error for the false hijacking message. Officials say the plane's crew could not get the transponder signal to stop.

As a precaution, the North American Aerospace Defence Command sent two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets to intercept the aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean and escort it to its new landing site.

 
Virgin Atlantic airplane lands in Halifax Friday morning.  
Initially there were conflicting reports on where the flight would land. First it was being sent to Moncton, N.B., but then reporters were told it might land in either Newfoundland or Nova Scotia.

Halifax was later confirmed as the intended landing site.

Virgin Atlantic Flight 45 was carrying 273 passengers and 16 crew members.


My own comments:
Watching the news cast on CBC there were many reporters asking about a US Hercules aircraft and the involvment of Delta forces to which the RCMP spokemen said that's the first he heard of it.   I wonder where they pulled that Delta force stuff from and if they mixed it up with the JTF or have actuall inside info.

 

[MikeM]

I just watched the news myself and saw the "SWAT" Team enter the aircraft, and the first thing that popped into my mind was that why would they use a SWAT team for a possible hijacking scenario.

I've heard conflicting reports myself, and it would seem as though maybe a more specialized unit was used, being that it was a "hijack" scenario.

Maybe I'm out in left field and watch too many movies, just my .02.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

The RCMP said it was their ERT team.  I think the media use the term SWAT for any specialiezed police unit wheather they are real SWAT or not.

 

[MikeM]

Ahh ok, thanks for the clarification, I didn't hear anything else on the news about it, so I turned it off.

Good to see they got to put some training to use though.

 

[Whiskey_Dan]

Well considering the pilot confirmed it was a false alarm and everything was OK...maybe the Halifax RCMP just wanted to test their ERT skills on boarding aircraft? Just my $0.02

 

[condor888000]

How did they know it was the actual pilot until they were on the ground? For all they knew it might have been someone acting as if they were the pilot when in actuality they were a terrorist. Possibly the ERT team was there in case that was what was going on and it was not in fact the real pilot. Thankfully that wasn't the case though......

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

I'm sure the ERT treated everyone as a potential hostile and that is way the plane was diverted to Halifax to ensure that the reported false alarm was in fact just that.

 

[jmacleod]

The aircraft is a Virgin transatlantic flight. An emergency transponder hijack alert went off without
prompting, causing an immediate reaction from CF F-18's (probably from Bagotville PQ) and the
aircraft was escorted to Moncton NB (which to my knowledge has no ERT in place) - thus the
Virgin flight made a full stop on the Halifax International Airport - the quick CF response and the
highly professional way this incident was resolved by the various Canadian agencies involved reflects
great credit on those involved. MacLeod

 

[Sf2]

latest news said that the american herc that landed shortly after had nothing to do with the scenario

 

[jmacleod]

US C-130's used to use 12 Wing Shearwater NS until the Federal government reallocated the
funds to upgrade and recertify the high speed and heavy lift runway to build a supply depot
in Montreal (why would CF need a depot in Montreal?) - in any event, the reason that US RAF
and CF Herc's use Halifax International is because they cannot use 12 Wing, which appears rather
stupid to me, because in many instances, parts and other things are destined for 12 Wing.The
military aircraft pay a high price to use the "not-for-profit" Halifax International Airport - they
would pay no fees in 12 Wing and help support the various clubs and messes, etc. MacLeod

 

[mbhabfan]

does anyone else find it kind of strange that if there is a terrorist threat the Americans want the plane diverted to Canada???  They piss and moan about our border security but they have no problem sending a plane that was destined for an American airport, that could possibly be hijacked to our Canadian soil.  I would think that they should have to divert to some other American airport. Why should we take there problems?

 

[1feral1]

does anyone else find it kind of strange that if there is a terrorist threat the Americans want the plane diverted to Canada???   They piss and moan about our border security but they have no problem sending a plane that was destined for an American airport, that could possibly be hijacked to our Canadian soil.   I would think that they should have to divert to some other American airport. Why should we take there problems?

What it boils down to is whatever was the nearest airport once the decison was made to divert the jet, and the safety of people first. Remember that jet flys at well over 800 kph, once in the air, Halifax and NYC are not that far away from each other.

'Their' problems are our problems as this war is not against the USA, but the west. If youu're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

Our borders are transparent, after all its the largest unprotected border between two nations in the world, and coming from Manitoba (from your profile) you should realise that. Plenty of open space to be taken advantage of. Canadian immigration as in many other western nations must be reviewed, as the bad guys will always follow the weakest link.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Quote,
does anyone else find it kind of strange that if there is a terrorist threat the Americans want the plane diverted to Canada???   They piss and moan about our border security but they have no problem sending a plane that was destined for an American airport, that could possibly be hijacked to our Canadian soil.   I would think that they should have to divert to some other American airport. Why should we take there problems?


the North American Aerospace Defence Command sent two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets
..........you were saying?

....gee, or even better, send it back to England [Virgin Airlines}....so what if there wouldn't be enough fuel, not our problem, eh?

 

[mbhabfan]

I am not arguing that they should not have been diverted but what if it was a terrorist act...is it somehow better landing in Halifax than some american city?

 

[1feral1]

To me its obvious by your remarks to seem to have a bit of a bad taste with our American neighbours. I still don't know where you are coming from, the jet was simply sent to the nearest location. SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY. When people's lives are concerned, I don't see any reason to spout off anti-USA politics, and I am sure if you had a relative on board, you would want that plane to touch down at the nearest safe place irregardless if it was in the USA or Canada for that matter. Being an international flight, there would be more than Americans on board, and yes maybe some Canadians too.

 

[mbhabfan]

I am not trying to be Anti American at all.  I see the safety factor but thanks for pointing out the obvious.  Never mind.

 

[yankies37]

Nevermind is right. That thought was not well-founded. Halifax does not have possible terrorist targets like New York, its location to the where the plane was combined with its lack of potential targets made it a great chise to land the plane. How is that so difficult to figure out?

 

[George Wallace]

I am inclined to agree with Wesley....however; Safety Second!  Cost First!  You can just go to the nearest pumps and look at the price of fuel and the Airline companies are very fuel conscious.  The crew identified the problem as a technical malfunction, they had a fighter escort, and to clear things up they made for the nearest airport.  Relatively simple.  Why make a complex matter out of it?

 

[Cronicbny]

Looking back at my experience in Halifax... the airport there is PERFECT for this sort of thing. It's VERY far from the city proper, so even if it was ditched prior to arrival, or even on the runway, little collateral damage would occur. While I'm not discounting the fuel factor, I think Halifax has been identified by NORAD as a perfect place to divert potential hijacked aircraft to. Most of the other large airports nearby (nearby in aircraft terms) are either adjacent to, or right in, built up areas.

Just my two cents