New Delhi: Chaos erupted at Delhi Airport and Mumbai Airport after an Air India pilot sent a hijack alert to the Air Traffic Control. The incident happened when the Air India flight was traveling from Delhi to Mumbai. On Monday night, the Air India pilot sent the hijack alarm alert from inside the aircraft.
The Air India Flight 2957 had 126 passengers on board. Shortly after the takeoff from Delhi, the pilot sent the hijack alert. The Delhi ATC alerted all relevant agencies immediately after receiving the hijack alert.
CISF, NSG, Air Force in action mode
Soon after, the CISF, NSG, Air Force, and Mumbai Police were deployed at Mumbai Airport as the flight was about to land. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Mumbai Airport.
Officials from Home, Civil Aviation Ministry and Maharashtra government were also put on high alert during the incident.
After the landing, the pilot clarified that the hijack alarm was triggered by mistake. Meanwhile, The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other agencies have initiated a probe into the incident.
Hijack alert causes panic
The hijack alert panicked security agencies and civil aviation authorities for nearly two hours during the incident on Monday night. The Civil Aviation Ministry has formed a committee to look into the incident.
How incident unfolded
The Air India has stated that Flight AI-2957 took off from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport at 8:40 pm on Monday. The aircraft was heading to Mumbai, but minutes after takeoff, the pilot sent an emergency alert to Delhi Air Traffic Control (ATC).
The pilot transmitted ‘Squawk 7500’ signal, an official hijack distress code. The signal was transmitted continuously for three minutes. However, the pilot had accidentally pressed the hijack alert button, the airline stated.
Aviation Ministry takes incident seriously
According to Delhi Airport officials, the Delhi ATC followed the set protocol after receiving the emergency hijack signal. While, the Mumbai Airport, security agencies, and the Indian Air Force were also alerted.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has taken the incident very seriously. After the incident, DGCA along with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and CISF has constituted an investigation committee.
The committee will probe whether the false hijack alert was due to a technical malfunction, a pilot error, or something else. The report on the matter is expected to be out within a week.
