Bangalore: In a mock exercise conducted yesterday at the Bangalore international airport, the hijack of a Dubai-bound aircraft was foiled without bloodshed though a passenger was "killed" and two others "injured".
"The anti-hijack mock drill was enacted to verify alertness and preparedness to handle unlawful interference to civil aviation operations at the Bangalore airport," Additional Chief Secretary S.K. Pattanayak told reporters after the exercise that took hundreds of passengers and visitors by surprise for a while.
The hijack drama was thwarted by the skilful handling of the situation, which involved various allied agencies, including Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), National Security Guard (NSG), National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), Airports Authority of India and the state intelligence.
"The Dubai-bound aircraft, which took off from the airport at noon, was 'hijacked' 10 minutes after take-off. The ATC (air traffic control) alerted the security agencies immediately after receiving the message from the pilot. The aerodrome committee also held an emergent meeting in the emergency operations control room to co-ordinate the rescue operations," Pattanayak said.
While the hijack drama was on, the aircraft engine suddenly "caught fire", forcing the pilot to return to the airport for an emergency landing. The aircraft was shifted to the isolation bay where one "injured" passenger was thrown out.
