Hijacked Plane

Xpro

Ethiopian Airlines,
Apparently a F/O hijacked the plane.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26222674

cailinoBAC

I flew this route (and at that exact time) back from my honeymoon in 2012 so super interested in this. The thing I don’t get is that a few places are mentioning a scheduled stop in Khartoum, but I don’t think there is a scheduled stop there. Also then when further reports focus on the co-pilot that just doesn’t make sense.

pclancy

Not that often you see a view of a plane sitting with landing/taxi lights on, flaps down and escape rope hanging from co pilot's window! Glad everyone's OK, that must have been terrifying for passengers and crew not knowing what the copilot was actually up to.



ATC recording here on Telegraph article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/ethiopia/10642999/Hijacked-aircraft-lands-in-Geneva.html

L1011

Surely a qualified commercial pilot (with a widebody T/R at that) would have little trouble getting working visas for another country rather than needing to claim asylum? Whereas now he isn't going to fly again for anyone I'd imagine.

Xpro

MYOB wrote: »

Surely a qualified commercial pilot (with a widebody T/R at that) would have little trouble getting working visas for another country rather than needing to claim asylum? Whereas now he isn't going to fly again for anyone I'd imagine.

Probably a big bull$hit story on his end. You wouldn't know what these freaks are up to:(

murphaph

Yeah, doesn't make sense as reported. He could have just left the airport in Rome and taken a train to Geneva if if had to be Switzerland (Italy and Switzerland are Schengen). There's more to this than is being reported....or else he has mental health issues. Strange strange stuff.

folbotcar

Yes, it really doesn't make sense. All he had to do was walk out of the airport in Rome. It really sounds like a spur of the moment decision.

I remember it being said a few years ago. 'They check pilots medically all the time but never whether they're mad or not.'

Pinch Flat

murphaph wrote: »

Yeah, doesn't make sense as reported. He could have just left the airport in Rome and taken a train to Geneva if if had to be Switzerland (Italy and Switzerland are Schengen). There's more to this than is being reported....or else he has mental health issues. Strange strange stuff.

Perhaps he didn't have the required visa - would imagine its jut not a case of breezing from airside to the outside world without the correct paperwork

kona

Not the first time a Ethiopian 767 has been hijacked. This was 20 minutes from a similar fate.

folbotcar

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Perhaps he didn't have the required visa - would imagine its jut not a case of breezing from airside to the outside world without the correct paperwork

You imagine wrongly I'm afraid. It is a case of 'breezing from airside to the outside world'. He would have a visa. What do you think? Do you imagine pilots are kept in holding cells at airports in between flights.

A pilot without a visa wouldn't keep his job for long.

Pinch Flat

folbotcar wrote: »

You imagine wrongly I'm afraid. It is a case of 'breezing from airside to the outside world'. He would have a visa. What do you think? Do you imagine pilots are kept in holding cells at airports in between flights.

A pilot without a visa wouldn't keep his job for long.

So it's just a matter of parking the plane and waking off? Would have thought there would be a check of passport at least? Perhaps Switzerland is a safer bet for asylum - he could have just been repatriated from Italy to Ethiopia perhaps?

Davidth88

I see that it's being reported that the Swiss Air Force wasn't scrambled because it was outside office hours.... that's mad. Interestingly I ( along with about 15 other British spotters ) were held under armed guard at the Swiss airforce airshow at Dubenborf because we were taking photos !! Odd lot those Swiss.

andy_g

Davidth88 wrote: »

Odd lot those Swiss.

Might be odd but the make a damn good swiss watch

pclancy

Davidth88 wrote: »

I see that it's being reported that the Swiss Air Force wasn't scrambled because it was outside office hours.... that's mad. Interestingly I ( along with about 15 other British spotters ) were held under armed guard at the Swiss airforce airshow at Dubenborf because we were taking photos !! Odd lot those Swiss.

I married one and yep, they're unique all right.

I laughed when I read that they closed over night, even the fact that Geneva made them hold overhead for so long was typical Swiss, they were probably waiting for the relevant decision make to emerge from bed and sign some paperwork

Some Swiss are very vocal about not wanting an airforce at all and think Italy/France should step in. They want to use the money for more filing cabinets and red tape.

Irish Steve

pclancy wrote: »

I married one and yep, they're unique all right.

I laughed when I read that they closed over night, even the fact that Geneva made them hold overhead for so long was typical Swiss, they were probably waiting for the relevant decision make to emerge from bed and sign some paperwork

Some Swiss are very vocal about not wanting an airforce at all and think Italy/France should step in. They want to use the money for more filing cabinets and red tape.

Have a friend who lives near and works at Zurich airport, and the stories he tells about Swiss aviation are many and amazing. The delay was possibly more to do with making sure that certain areas were not "upset" by a low flying aircraft outside of "normal" operating hours, there are huge issues at Zurich about aircraft overflying certain areas, which are part of Germany, at "inappropriate" times, to the extent that some arrivals end up having to use out of wind runways to avoid "noise sensitive" areas. I can well believe that there are similar issues at Geneva, which could well have ended up with a conversation in the tower along the lines of "keep him in the hold for a while until the curfew limit has expired". Anything is possible in Switzerland!

folbotcar

Pinch Flat wrote: »

So it's just a matter of parking the plane and waking off? Would have thought there would be a check of passport at least? Perhaps Switzerland is a safer bet for asylum - he could have just been repatriated from Italy to Ethiopia perhaps?

More or less. All his paperwork would be correct or else he wouldn't be allowed to fly for the airline at all. Applies to all pilots flying international routes. If there's a stopover crew stay at local hotels sometimes miles from the airport. It would be easy to disappear and pop up elsewhere to claim asylum.

Davidth88

I imagine Italy's relationship with Ethiopia is still quite close considering the history there.

pclancy

More footage coming out today. CoPilot deserves Jail, the way he scared the passengers was despicable. Must be mental issues, he could have easily applied for Asylum without torturing several hundred people and throwing his career away!

pclancy

Jeez read some of the passengers experiences here over on Flyertalk:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other-middle-eastern-african-airlines/1552510-ethiopian-flight-702-add-fco-hijacked-copilot-diverted-gva-9.html#post22370163

Not good.

Pinch Flat

Shocking stuff. How the media could report that the passengers were unaware that the flight was hijacked is bizarre. I would have though the captain locked out of the cockpit shortly after take off would have caused a little bit of a fuss!

Tabnabs

Switzerland's fleet of F-18s and F-5 Tigers remained on the ground, Swiss airforce spokesman Laurent Savary told AFP.

This, he explained, was because the Swiss airforce is only available during office hours. These are reported to be from 8am until noon, then 1:30 to 5pm.

"Switzerland cannot intervene because its airbases are closed at night and on the weekend," he said, adding: "It's a question of budget and staffing."

Monday's hijacking, carried out by 31-year-old Hailemedehin Abera Tagegn, according to Addis Ababa, took place in the very early hours, with the aircraft and its 202 passengers and crew landing safely in Geneva at 6:02 am (0502 GMT).

That was just two minutes after the airport opened for business, and two hours before the Swiss airforce is operational.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h9zK8htJiOVgEYftfcv5Yn68TyEQ?docId=8f097679-971e-42a8-960f-6bd63fb6e318


We thought the AC had a hard time with cutbacks...

Beano

So the only thing stopping the swiss air force from attacking us is that they wouldnt be able to get back for their lunch or their dinner?

IngazZagni

That is quite embarrassing. So the Swiss can only defend themselves during office hours?

I knew they only did their practice stuff during office hours but I assumed they would have crew and aircraft on stby 24/7 for a real emergency situation. I thought wrong I guess.

pclancy

A Swiss would say it makes perfect sense.

Its probably all down to cost and some thinking behind a tight risk management framework. Swiss arent stupid and love finding savings in the details. Remember, the odds at any time of an aircraft needing to be intercepted over Switzerland are quite low. As a small neutral country you can fly from one side to the other in half an hour! Considering how they are landlocked, close other air forces are all around them, and in this case the fact Geneva is practically inside France, it makes sense not to have a 24 hour operation or bother getting up early to respond to this incident. That would be their thinking.

F-18s are not cheap to fly and they do well- maintain one of the world's most upgraded fleets of the type. Big order of Gripens arriving in the next few years too. So for a neutral country they sure are well defended. Plus drive along the highways and sometimes you'll notice a pre-prepared airstrip for use during wartime amoungst the mountains. But well defended and wasting money wouldnt mix.

In peacetime, its not cheap to maintain 24/7 coverage for a tiny country, and not the Swiss way to throw away money on anything