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Hijack drama was a false alarm: Shahnawaz Hussain

The hijack drama involving Alliance Air Flight CD-7444 ended in the wee hours of Thursday as a damp squib.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain clarified at about 0400 hours (IST) on Thursday that the report of the hijacking of the late-night Bombay-New Delhi flight was actually a false alarm raised by the Ahmedabad air traffic control (ATC).

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the crisis management group of his ministry, summoned soon after reports of the alleged hijack came in, Hussain remarked, "This proved to be a false alarm."

"We have not been taking any chances with reports of hijacks," the minister explained, "but the government will look into the phone call to the Ahmedabad ATC about the flight being hijacked."

According to Hussain, the pilots of the aircraft locked the doors of the cockpit when the Ahmedabad ATC alerted them about the hijack.

The plane thereafter landed at Delhi airport and was surrounded by commandos of the elite National Security Guard.

Hussain said NSG commandos boarded the plane through the cockpit door and after taking all precautions entered the passenger area. That was when they found that there was no hijacker on board.

Earlier, Hussain said Union Home Minister L K Advani spoke to the passengers on the plane, who were wondering where the hijackers were.

Since the cockpit door was locked, the passengers thought the hijackers were in there while the pilots thought the hijackers were in the passenger area.

The civil aviation minister assured that the government was taking all steps to ensure that such incidents did not recur.

Those responsible for the false alarm would not be spared, he added.

Some disembarking passengers, however, told STAR News television channel that the commandos who had entered the plane took away two men at gun point.

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