Friday, September 02, 2005
India's Anti Hijacking policy...
Read this piece of article in the Indian Express today.. Makes mockery of our civil aviation..
What does the government’s new, ultra-tough policy on hijacking really mean? A look at a ‘breaking-news’ item on TV that we might expect soon...
(0915 hrs): Indian Airlines plane may have been hijacked! According to sources, flight IC-911 with 196 passengers on board took off from Patna for Delhi at 0900 hrs. Air Traffic Control lost contact with plane thereafter. The plane’s transponder appears disabled,” says an ATC official in Delhi.
(0930 hrs): IC-911 located by IAF! A Home Ministry spokesman confirms that the IAF located IC-911 within minutes of its reported disappearance. Two MiG-29s are escorting the plane as per procedure. So far there have been no demands by hijackers. Two members of Crisis Management Group are in Geneva, three in Adelaide; they will hold a tele-conference at 1100 hrs.
(1030 hrs): Anger grows at government apathy. Hundreds of anxious relatives of passengers throng Delhi and Patna airports. “My bhatija’s second cousin’s nephew Tuntun is on it. Why hasn’t the government talked to the hijackers yet? Why shouldn’t they release a few terrorists in exchange for Tuntun?” snarls H.L. Raunak, a Patna businessman. “Are terrorists more important than Auntie Kichkich?” asks socialite Poonam Loneckwali.
(1200 hrs): Protestors lathi-charged! Police use ‘mild force’ to disperse a 2,000-strong crowd gathered outside the PM’s residence to protest against government ‘inaction’ over crisis. Some protesters injured. The PM has appealed for calm. CMG says a tough and proactive strategy will be followed.
(1230 hrs): Hijackers foiled! Acting on the CMG’s recommendations, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, 15 malls, and the residence of the Opposition leader have been blown up. “The hijackers will be left with no targets; we will demolish other vital installations shortly,” says official.
(1345 hrs): Hijack crisis over! IC-911 landed safely at Srinagar airport at 1315 hrs. Turns out that the plane was never hijacked. Sources reveal that the plane’s transponder did not work because of incessant use of cellphones by passengers. Significantly, 185 of the 196 passengers are related to a Union minister, currently lodged in Beur jail and awaiting bail in 37 criminal cases. “We would have landed in Delhi, but found that all runways had been blown up by the government,” explains Capt Joe De Mentia, pilot of IC-911.
(Flash) Capt Joe De Mentia has been arrested for violating air traffic laws. The government has set up an inquiry commission.
The source of the article can be seen here
What does the government’s new, ultra-tough policy on hijacking really mean? A look at a ‘breaking-news’ item on TV that we might expect soon...
(0915 hrs): Indian Airlines plane may have been hijacked! According to sources, flight IC-911 with 196 passengers on board took off from Patna for Delhi at 0900 hrs. Air Traffic Control lost contact with plane thereafter. The plane’s transponder appears disabled,” says an ATC official in Delhi.
(0930 hrs): IC-911 located by IAF! A Home Ministry spokesman confirms that the IAF located IC-911 within minutes of its reported disappearance. Two MiG-29s are escorting the plane as per procedure. So far there have been no demands by hijackers. Two members of Crisis Management Group are in Geneva, three in Adelaide; they will hold a tele-conference at 1100 hrs.
(1030 hrs): Anger grows at government apathy. Hundreds of anxious relatives of passengers throng Delhi and Patna airports. “My bhatija’s second cousin’s nephew Tuntun is on it. Why hasn’t the government talked to the hijackers yet? Why shouldn’t they release a few terrorists in exchange for Tuntun?” snarls H.L. Raunak, a Patna businessman. “Are terrorists more important than Auntie Kichkich?” asks socialite Poonam Loneckwali.
(1200 hrs): Protestors lathi-charged! Police use ‘mild force’ to disperse a 2,000-strong crowd gathered outside the PM’s residence to protest against government ‘inaction’ over crisis. Some protesters injured. The PM has appealed for calm. CMG says a tough and proactive strategy will be followed.
(1230 hrs): Hijackers foiled! Acting on the CMG’s recommendations, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, 15 malls, and the residence of the Opposition leader have been blown up. “The hijackers will be left with no targets; we will demolish other vital installations shortly,” says official.
(1345 hrs): Hijack crisis over! IC-911 landed safely at Srinagar airport at 1315 hrs. Turns out that the plane was never hijacked. Sources reveal that the plane’s transponder did not work because of incessant use of cellphones by passengers. Significantly, 185 of the 196 passengers are related to a Union minister, currently lodged in Beur jail and awaiting bail in 37 criminal cases. “We would have landed in Delhi, but found that all runways had been blown up by the government,” explains Capt Joe De Mentia, pilot of IC-911.
(Flash) Capt Joe De Mentia has been arrested for violating air traffic laws. The government has set up an inquiry commission.
The source of the article can be seen here
Labels: Serious Matter
