Armed police storm plane after wrong radio code sent message it was hijacked
Wed Jun 27, 2018 08:12:am World
3.3K By Obiaks Blog
An incorrect radio code sent the message to armed police officers at JFK International Airport in New York that a plane had been hijacked.
Videos showed officers storming the JetBlue plane, with worried passengers being told to put their arms in the air, as they investigated the call.
But the airline called the incident a ‘false alarm' after the flight bound for Los Angeles suffered ‘radio issues'.
Firefighters, Port Authority police and SWAT members surrounded flight 1623 on Tuesday night with conflicting reports on what led to the reports of a hijacking.
The New York Post reported a JetBlue pilot accidentally sent a signal to air traffic control that his plane had been hijacked.
The pilot had apparently told controllers that the aircraft was having radio issues, but mistakenly used the code for a hijacking.
But a source reportedly told The New York Daily News, that tower personnel pressed the hijack alert button after five minutes of no communication with the plane's pilots.
At one point the pilot held up a piece of paper with his mobile phone number on it so police could call him and find out what happened, it reported.
A spokeswoman for JetBlue said: ‘Shortly before departure, Flight 1623 from New York JFK to Los Angeles experienced a radio issue impacting the crew's ability to communicate and a false alarm was sent to JFK tower.
‘While communication was reestablished via alternate channels, authorities responded in an abundance of caution.
‘The aircraft was cleared and returned to the gate for inspection.'
A Port Authority spokeswoman said the plane ‘was inspected and cleared with no security threat'.
Department of Homeland Security and the FBI were said to be on the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement saying the aircraft ‘experienced a radio equipment problem while taxiing for departure at John F. Kennedy International Airport'.
The LAX-bound flight departed the gate just before 7.30pm but never left the ground.
‘The crew requested to return to the ramp. The FAA will investigate,' the statement continued.response on Tuesday night at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Passengers writing online said they spent 90 minutes on the plane before they were allowed to leave.
METRO UK
Videos showed officers storming the JetBlue plane, with worried passengers being told to put their arms in the air, as they investigated the call.
But the airline called the incident a ‘false alarm' after the flight bound for Los Angeles suffered ‘radio issues'.
Firefighters, Port Authority police and SWAT members surrounded flight 1623 on Tuesday night with conflicting reports on what led to the reports of a hijacking.
The New York Post reported a JetBlue pilot accidentally sent a signal to air traffic control that his plane had been hijacked.
The pilot had apparently told controllers that the aircraft was having radio issues, but mistakenly used the code for a hijacking.
But a source reportedly told The New York Daily News, that tower personnel pressed the hijack alert button after five minutes of no communication with the plane's pilots.
At one point the pilot held up a piece of paper with his mobile phone number on it so police could call him and find out what happened, it reported.
A spokeswoman for JetBlue said: ‘Shortly before departure, Flight 1623 from New York JFK to Los Angeles experienced a radio issue impacting the crew's ability to communicate and a false alarm was sent to JFK tower.
‘While communication was reestablished via alternate channels, authorities responded in an abundance of caution.
‘The aircraft was cleared and returned to the gate for inspection.'
A Port Authority spokeswoman said the plane ‘was inspected and cleared with no security threat'.
Department of Homeland Security and the FBI were said to be on the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement saying the aircraft ‘experienced a radio equipment problem while taxiing for departure at John F. Kennedy International Airport'.
The LAX-bound flight departed the gate just before 7.30pm but never left the ground.
‘The crew requested to return to the ramp. The FAA will investigate,' the statement continued.response on Tuesday night at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Passengers writing online said they spent 90 minutes on the plane before they were allowed to leave.
METRO UK
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