The pilots of an Alaska Airlines flight locked down the cockpit after reporting that multiple passengers had threatened to take over the aircraft. Police briefly detained two passengers after the pilots, acting out of caution, returned the aircraft to the gate and delayed the flight.
Pilots of an Alaska Airlines flight on Sunday locked down the cockpit after reporting that multiple passengers had threatened to take over the flight.
The pilots returned the aircraft to the gate, and the police took two passengers in custody whom the pilots had reported for ‘disruptive behaviour’.
The incident happened on the Alaska Airlines flight 305 heading from Miami to Seattle. The incident happened as the aircraft was moving for take-off.
A passenger threatening to remove the captain and commandeer the aeroplane is one of the most serious offences in aviation. Such passengers are bound to be removed from the aeroplane and investigated by the police.
After passengers were temporarily deplaned, the flight took off after two persons reported for disruptive behaviour were taken into custody.
‘We have a customer threatening to take the aircraft over’
In the exchange published by Enhanced Radar, one of the pilots told the air traffic controllers that one of the passengers had threatened to take control of the aircraft. The pilot said that the passenger made the threat to a flight attendant.
The pilot said: “Ramp, Alaska 305, we have set the parking brake, and we have a customer disturbance on board right now, with threats coming from customers. We want to go into a lockdown protocol. We are shutting down the engine, and parking brake set.”
Moments later, the pilot confirmed: “The flight attendants have received threats from customers on board the aircraft…the last thing we heard from the flight attendant is that we had a customer threat to take the aircraft over.”
The airline confirmed the incident to aviation news outlet PYOK and said that two passengers were removed and temporarily banned from flying with the airline.
The airline said: “On August 9, two guests onboard Alaska Airlines Flight 305 from Miami (MIA) to Seattle (SEA) were disruptive during the aircraft’s taxi. The aircraft returned to the gate where it was met by law enforcement, and the passengers were removed and temporarily banned from flying with us.
“The flight then continued its journey to Seattle. The safety of our guests and crew is always our highest priority. We appreciate our employees’ professionalism and apologise to our guests for the delay and inconvenience.”
The police said that “no credible threat” was determined in the incident and the two individuals taken into custody were rebooked on another flight.
What do you think about this?
Drop your opinion in the comment section.
Share this with someone who needs to see this.