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Threats
of Hijacking
At about 8.
30 am on the 11th of September 2001, the Manager on duty of American
Airlines received an emergency call from a reservation supervisor
stating that a flight attendant was
hysterical on the mobile phone.
She was calling from an aircraft and wanted to talk to the Operation Officer.
The flight attendant was heard to be shrieking
and grasping for air while talking at the same time. She
related that two attendants had been stabbed and one was on the
oxygen respirator. A passenger had his throat cut and appeared
dead. The hijackers had entered the cockpit. The
flight from a Boeing 767 wide-body, had left Boston and was headed for Los
Angeles. It turned over Albany, a point I used to fly over. This point is significant
to me because I have always been
instructed to fly below 24,000 feet to facilitate other
domestic traffic whenever I fly to Newark from
Europe. (This early descent cause
the Boeing 777 to burn more fuel than usual and
I always make it a point to carry an extra two tons of fuel prior to my departure). At this
point, the Boeing 767 then
banked toward the south of Albany and headed for New York.
Air traffic controllers from FAA informed the American's operation
center that the aircraft flew erratically, probably the
hijackers were struggling with the plane's two pilots. They could
even hear arguments over the aircraft's transmission. Betty
Ong, the flight attendant screaming on the phone, said that four
hijackers had come from the First Class seats and had fatally injured
a passenger. The hijackers had sprayed some chemicals and
made those around struggling with burning eyes. At
about the same time, another Boeing 767 belonging to United
Airlines was also hijacked and crashed into the other Tower.
Then a third aircraft, American Airlines Boeing 757 from
Dulles, Washington DC to Los Angeles was hijacked and flown into
the Pentagon. A fourth aircraft, a United Airlines Boeing 767 was
apparently hijacked and crashed outside Pittsburgh.
Worst
than Pearl Harbor These
attacks were the worst that the USA has experienced since the
Japanese bombing of the Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. The Twin Towers
which were the epitome of the US financial supremacy were
destroyed and the Pentagon, the nerve center of the military power
was also partly damaged.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack but there were
suspicion that the exiled Saudi Osama bin Laden was probably
involved. Bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire, was blamed
for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa in which 224
people died.
An Arab journalist with access to Bin Laden had told Reuters in
London that he had warned three weeks ago of an
''unprecedented attack'' on U.S. interests soon. This threat
was not taken seriously.
The attacks by the hijackers on the Twin Towers created scenes
of panic, disbelief and heroism in the largest US City. The
final count of the death was in the region of 3200 deaths.
Motives of
hijacking
In the past,
political terrorists have carried out hijackings, most often to
obtain release of fellow terrorists from prison. The attack on the
US on September 11th was mostly to gain publicity for their
causes. It was once thought that the motivation to hijack
aircraft spreads from one individual to another as a result of
media coverage of hijacking incidents. This certainly was not
true now for the motive was probably more of achieving martyrdom
and getting publicity for a cause.
Hijacking or skyjacking is defined as the forcible
commandeering of an aircraft in flight. In the US, it is an
offence punishable by long prison term or execution.
After 1970, the incidence of airplane hijackings in the US
became a serious problem. Planes were hijacked by Cuban exiles, by
the mentally ill, criminals fleeing the country and by those bent
upon extorting large sums of money.
In 1973, the FAA began searching passengers and checking
carry-on baggage by means of X-rays and metal detector devices at
major airports. These precautions helped to alleviate the
problems.
Other less tragic
hijackings
Other less tragic example of hijacking was the one that
occurred in June 1976. They were carried out by
pro-Palestinian terrorists on an El Al plane flying to Entebbe
airport in Uganda. A daring raid by Israeli commandos resulted in
the deaths of the hijackers and the rescue of more than 100
hostages. Three hostages, however died in the fighting.
In the mid-1980s, the problem seemed to escalate. In 1985, a
TWA plane was hijacked on a flight from Athens and diverted to
Lebanon, where some of the passengers remained hostages for a
week. Many others followed and such world wide incidents led to
renewed calls for improved security measures and international
cooperation to combat terrorist activities.
Before the September 11th incidents, there were two types of
hijackings. One for the purpose of transportation and the
other was for extortion.
In most of the hijacking events, hijackers have demanded to be
taken to a particular destination. The hijackers are usually
escaping refugees, escaping criminals and others asylum
seekers. The majority of such attempts were for the purpose of
diverting the aircraft to Cuba.
Most hijackings involve extortion. The hijackers make demands that are backed up
by the threat of harm to the plane, its passengers, or its crew.
Most extortion attempts in
Europe and the Middle East have had political objectives as their
aims. In the
United States, the majority of extortion attempts have been in
pursuit of money although several have involved
attempts to free prisoners.
Hijackings in the
1950's
Hijacking before the late
1950s had motives that were different to those later events in the
US. From the late 1958 through 1969, aircraft hijackings were
restricted to areas that were centered on Cuba. Most of these
hijacking were carried out by anti-Castro individuals whose aims
were to divert Cuban airplanes to the US. After the Bay of Pigs
invasion in 1961, the flow of hijackings were reversed. Now
Cuban exiles were hijacking planes from US to Cuba! Today, the
threat of hijacking becomes very real as maximum publicity can be
achieved from a successful attempt. Even if one ends in failure,
the objective of the hijackers of publicity is
partially achieved. Look at the latest incident of the
alleged 'shoe bomber' whereby a man suspected of trying to blow up
a Paris to Miami flight by detonating explosives concealed
in his shoes. Again, this incident involved a Boeing 767
aircraft where a flight attendant saw the suspect trying to light
a match in an attempt to ignite a fuse attached to his shoe.
Somehow, the flight attendant and other passengers were able to
subdue him after a violent struggle. Such publicity has
raised fresh concern for holiday travelers already unnerved about
air travel after the September 11 hijack plane attacks. Hijackings
in the earlier years were usually not very successful and
frequently end in the death or imprisonment of their perpetrators,
but since the tragedy on the 11th of September, a rethink on this
phenomena is required and any countermeasures need to be reviewed
seriously. A deficiency in the airport security system is one of
the main cause of any successful hijackings.
Summary
of some
hijacking events prior to September 11th
|
Year |
Events |
|
1968 |
An El Al Israeli Airlines airplane was hijacked by the
Palestinian militants who forced the flight from Rome to divert to
Algiers. It was one of the longest hijacking ordeal and it
lasted for 40 days. Initially, the Algerian authorities held
22 hostages and after boycott by the international airline pilots
against the country, all were finally released.
|
|
1970 |
Palestinian hijackers forced three aircraft to fly to the
Jordanian desert. There were a total of 400 passengers who
were evacuated from the aircraft before the empty planes were
destroyed by explosions. The three aircraft were from Switzerland,
United Kingdom and United States. All the hostages were
finally released in exchange for seven Palestinian prisoners after
24 days of talk.
|
|
1976 |
An Air France airplane was hijacked by Palestinian to Entebbe
Airport in Uganda. This hijack came to an end after a week when the
hostages were rescued by the Israeli commandos. All the
hijackers were killed and 105 hostages were released but three
passengers and one commando died.
|
|
1977 |
A Lufthansa airplane was hijacked by Palestinian to
Mogadishu. The hijacked aircraft was stormed by German
commandos after a five days ordeal. During the storming of the
aircraft, three hijackers were killed and 86 hostages were rescued.
In this hijack, the Captain of the aircraft was shot dead by the
leader of the hijackers.
|
|
1978 |
An Egypt Air was seized by some Arab militants and they forced the
airplane to fly to Larnaca in Cyprus. Egyptian commandos then flew
to Larnaca to foil the hijack without the approval of the Cyprus
authorities. This resulted in 15 Egyption being killed when the
commandos were resisted by the Cyprus National Guards.
|
| 1981 |
A Pakistan International Airlines was hijacked and commandeered to
fly to Kabul. The airplane then flew to Damacus after one passenger
was killed at Kabul. After the Pakistani Government had acceded to
the hijackers demand of releasing 50 political prisoners in exchange
for the release of the hostages.
|
| 1984 |
A Kuwait Airways B747 was hijacked by Shi'a gunmen to fly to
Tehran. In this hijack, two US servicemen were killed.
After the 6 days ordeal, the Iranian Security forces were able to
bring the hijack to an end when they disguised themselves as
cleaners.
|
| 1985 |
A TWA airplane with 153 passengers was hijacked from Athens to
Beirut by Lebanese Shi'a gunmen. One American was killed and
39 other passengers were held for 17 days. The hijacked airplane was
stormed by Israeli who were able to free the 31 Shi'a Lebanese
prisoners.
|
| 1985 |
An Egypt Air flight was seized by Palestinians but the miscalculated
storming of the aircraft by the Egyptian commandos resulted in
very high casualties. In the end, 59 people died from the
rescue of the hostages.
|
| 1986 |
A Pan Am Boeing 747 carrying 400 passengers and crew was being
hijacked. This aircraft was stormed by Pakistani security
forces after a 16 hour siege. The final count of the casualties was
22 deaths.
|
| 1988 |
A Kuwait Airways Boeing 747 with 110 passengers was hijacked
by Shi'a Gunmen and forced to fly from Thailand to Algiers. After 16
days, the hijack ended with two Kuwaitis killed and the remaining
hostages released.
|
|
1991
|
A Singapore Airlines Airbus 310 was being seized by 4
hijackers. After the hijackers forcibly ejected a flight
attendant out from the cabin onto the tarmac, the Singaporean
commandos stormed the aircraft and shot dead the 4 hijackers.
|
|
1993
|
An Ethiopian Airlines airplane was hijacked over Eastern
Ethiopia. Two hijackers and an woman passenger were killed
when the aircraft was stormed by the security forces.
|
|
1998 |
A Pakistan International Airline airplane was hijacked and landed
at Hyderabad Airport in India. Pakistani security forces,
disguised as Indians were able to capture the 3 hijackers and freed
the 28 hostages
|
Summary
of hijacking events involving USA Carriers since 1970
|
Year |
Events |
| 1973 |
While embarkation process was in
progress in a Pan Am B747 at the gate
at the Airport in Rome, Italy, a
group of terrorists launch an attack
on the airplane with explosives.
After killing 30, the terrorists
hijacked a Boeing 737.
|
| 1985 |
A TWA Boeing 727 was hijacked in
Athens, Greece. One US military
personnel was killed by the hijackers
after 153 crew and passengers were
taken hostage.
|
| 1986 |
Four hijackers attempted to hijack a
Pan Am Boeing 747 while it was being
parked at the apron in Karachi,
Pakistan. The cockpit crew were
able to escape through the emergency
hatch. By the time the hijacking
ended, a total of 16 passengers were
killed.
|
| 1987 |
A USAir employee who was recently
fired, forged his way into a Pacific
Southwest Airline BAE 146 near San
Luis Obispo, California. He
killed his former manager and both the
pilots. A total of 5 crew members and
37 passengers were killed in this
incident.
|
| 2001 |
An American Airlines Boeing 767 was
hijacked while it was flying from
Boston to Los Angeles. The
hijackers took over the control of the
aircraft after overpowering the
cockpit crew and crashed the aircraft
into the Twin Towers at the World
Trade Center. The 11 crew members, 76
passengers and the 5 hijackers were
killed.
|
| 2001 |
An United Airlines Boeing 767 was
hijacked by 5 hijackers while it was
on a flight from Boston to Los
Angeles. The hijackers took over
control of the aircraft and crashed it
into one of the Twin Towers at the
World Trade Center. The nine crew
members, 53 passengers and five
hijackers were killed.
|
| 2001 |
An American Airlines Boeing 757 was
hijacked on a flight from Dulles,
Washington DC to Los Angeles.
the hijackers seized control of the
aircraft and crashed into the
Pentagon. The six crew members,
53 passengers and five hijackers were
killed.
|
| 2001 |
An United Airlines Boeing 757 was
hijacked while it was on a flight from
Newark to San Francisco. Apparently
some of the passengers on board
the aircraft were informed through the
cell phones about the intention of the
hijackers of the previous three
flights, put up a flight with the
hijackers. The aircraft crashed
outside Pittsburgh. The seven
crew members, 34 passengers and the
four hijackers were killed.
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Proposals
to deter Hijackings
The
massive destruction caused by the four successful hijackings in
the USA have prompted responsible people to come up with proposals
for making it harder for hijackers to commandeer an aircraft and
use it as a weapon. President Bush in a speech on September
27th made the following proposals:-
-
Put the airport security screeners under U.S.
Federal control.
-
Increase the number of visible security personnel
(National Guard troops) at U.S. airports
-
Put more federal air marshals on airline flights
-
Allow the aircraft to be controlled remotely from
the ground
-
Make the cockpit door and door locks stronger
-
Provide a way for the crew to see activity in the
cabin
-
Redesign transponders so they can't be turned off
from the cockpit
Currently, the security screeners are being privatized and
there have been numerous complaints about their
performances. The experience of the El Al Israeli Airlines
of deploying air marshals in their airplanes seems to be effective
to deter hijackers. Controlling aircraft remotely from the ground
would involve a complete change in redesigning the aircraft
controls and ground facilities.
There were further suggestions by the Airline Industry, US Government and others
who felt that more could be done to improve the threat of
hijackings.
Encourage the use of mobile phones for emergency communication.
The use of cell phones by the victims of the September 11th
hijackings were effective in in passing information at critical
times. Those inside the 4th hijacked airplane who knew about
what happened to the New York Twin Towers and the Pentagon,
decided to overpower the hijackers with all their lives because of
the information passed to them through the cell phones.
The US was reported to authorize the destruction of any
hijacked aircraft that may be used as a weapon. This is a
very controversial decision because the hijacked aircraft may have
a full load of commercial passengers. In fact, it was
reported that President Bush did authorize two Air Force Generals
to give such an order without the prior approval of the President.
Changing the procedures as to how the Airlines should react to
any hijackings. In the past, aircrew were trained to accede to
hijackers request so as to minimize the the loss of life but since
September 11th, the Air Line Pilots Pilots Association has made
detailed suggestions on new procedures with regards to the
handling of hijackers.
Arming the flight and cabin crew. Providing arms to the cockpit
crew would be better than destroying the hijacked aircraft.
The aircraft be installed with some form of knock out gas to
immobilize hijackers but these has its inherent difficulties as it
may affect the others onboard, including the pilots.
That the aircraft be installed with a system which could
override a flight path that flies directly into a building. At the
moment, there is an existing system known as the enhanced ground
proximity warning system in most of the latest model such as the
Boeing 777. This system virtually eliminates control flight into
terrain but is still not capable of preventing a control flight
into vertical buildings or obstructions. However, the technology
for this is not difficult to overcome.
My proposal is to design an autopilot system which can
only be overridden by the captain or copilot based on some secret
code or command when the 'anti-collision-with-buildings' system is
activated.
Tips
and Precautions
Against Hijacking Threats
You should be security conscious and be prepared to take
reasonable steps to ensure that your flight will be free
from any possible hijackings. Never leave your bags
unattended and report any suspicious items to the flight attendant
if inside the aircraft or any Airline personnel whilst
outside.
Whilst inside the
airplane, make a mental note of any passengers who may be suspicious
or may pose a potential threat to the aircraft.
Never offer to carry letters or
parcels for other passengers however friendly they may be. If you
observed any unaccompanied packages anywhere, report them to the
person in authority.
Know how to use the
aircraft communication device which has an interphone to speak to
the flight attendant or other passengers. This device comes with a
normal telephone as well (especially if you are flying a Boeing
777). If you are not sure how to use it, do not hesitate to
ask the flight attendant for help. Have a lists of some useful
emergency phone numbers that you can call when the need
arise. The FBI is the first number to call in the event of a
hijack and the number to call is
1-866-483-5137.
Although cell phones are banned in a normal flight, it is
permissible to use them in an emergency.
Is
this information sufficient for your
general knowledge?
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