A Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight SV872 from Riyadh was reported to have been hijacked some 20 miles away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), when the pilot activated a device within the cockpit telling ground air-traffic controllers that the plane is under threat.
Manila Internatioal Airport Authority (Miaa) chief Ed Monreal said the air-traffic controllers at the Naia were alerted by “a distress call and a code transmitted to the tower, which I will not divulge.”
He said the code was activated twice, first by the pilot and second when air-traffic controllers asked the pilot for verification and activated the code again.
Monreal said it was then that air- traffic controllers informed the airport authorities of the situation.
“We immediately convened the crisis-management team, comprised of the Miaa, the Philippine National Police [PNP] Aviation Security Group [Avsegroup] and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines [Caap] and other related agencies,” he said, to assess the situation.
The plane landed at 3:39 p.m. with 410 passengers, aside from the pilot and copilot and eight crew members.
Monreal said, according to protocol, the pilot was directed to proceed to a remote location at the Naia “to prevent any collateral damage.”
However, upon landing, the pilot called the tower again to tell them that there was a mistake.
Caap chief, Director General Jim Syjiongco, was assigned at the control tower to monitor the situation, while the Miaa Manager and the Avsegroup Director Mao Aplasca remained at the site of the aircraft, a B777, near runway 06.
Monreal said, “We will not tolerate such mistake and for the sake of security, since terrorism is rampant, we were compelled to place the aircraft and the passengers to an isolated area of the airport.”
The Miaa chief said all of the security forces of the airport convened at the aircraft to try to protect the passengers for any eventuality.
Eventually, the passengers were allowed to disembark at about 4:30 p.m. and Monreal said “all would be subjected to a fine-tooth comb to make sure that any prospective suspect would not be able to blend in with the passengers and slip through police cordon.”
Monreal said there is protocol to observe regarding the fielding of bomb-sniffing dogs inside the aircraft “but we will break protocol if we know there’s something amiss, adding that the K-9 would be let loose inside the airplane once all the passengers and crew have disembark.
He said all pieces of luggage and hand-carried items would be left behind near the airplane, where they would be subjected to strict inspection, while the passengers would be brought to the Naia building where they will undergo screening, following immigration procedures.
All flights at the Naia continue to operate despite the momentary disruptions.
Although runway operations continued Monreal said two flights were diverted on the pilots volition upon being informed of the ongoing hijack situation at the Naia.
Monreal gave this information during a press conference at 4:15 p.m. to give the media the latest developments.
Air-traffic controllers at the Naia were reported to have been alarmed when the radar screen “bloomed” and aural and visual signals went off, according to an airport insider who does not want to be identified because they are not allowed to do so.
The air controllers then alerted the airport authorities, especially the Avsegroup, who then alerted the Miaa, Caap and other agencies.
Former air-traffic controller and Caap Deputy Director Willy Borja confirmed that the radar screen would light up to show the call sign of Saudi Airlines, with a number 7500, indicating that the plane is being hijacked.
“This would be accompanied by a loud sound,” Borja added.
Vehicular traffic piled up on the road leading to the Naia 1 and Naia 2 as armed policemen inspected every vehicle, asking the drivers to roll down their windows for identification.
Monreal said Saudi had informed them that it had a total complement of 410 passengers and 21 crewmembers because it was a long-haul flight. He said he would request the on-scene commander to give a press conference after the event had been cleared.
Image credits: Alysa Salen
1 comment
The situation was handled excellently.