[MilCom] Pilot Inadvertently Sends Hijack Signal

[Tom M.]

My instructors always had me set the parrot to STBY when changing squawks to
prevent this sort of thing.  Anyone else get this instruction?

Tom
Lafayette, LA




--- GG <mystic@ikansas.com> wrote:
> 
> By MARIA-BELEN MORAN, Associated Press Writer
> 
> SAN FRANCISCO - The pilot of a Mexicana airline flight from Mexico
> City inadvertently sent a signal that someone was trying to hijack the
> plane, and federal authorities and police swarmed the plane when it
> landed in San Francisco.
> 
> 
> The "air piracy" alert code was sent by accident and the 168
> passengers aboard Mexicana Flight 976 were hustled away after the
> plane landed at 6:52 p.m at San Francisco International Airport, said
> Sgt. Larry Ratti.
> 
> 
> "The pilot erroneously dialed in a distress code that it was an air
> piracy. Naturally we take this very seriously here," Ratti said.
> 
> 
> Ratti said the pilot might have tried to undo his mistake in
> mid-flight, but those efforts either came up short or were met with
> scrutiny after the flight arrived.
> 
> 
> "One of our officers spoke to the pilot and confirmed that the
> situation was a mistake," Ratti said.
> 
> 
> Airport spokesman Mike McCarron gave a different account, saying the
> pilot did not realize the code had been sent until after the plane had
> landed. The emergency transponder code indicating a hijack attempt
> would have been known only by the pilot and co-pilot, he said.
> 
> 
> Spanish speaking officers placed a ladder near the plane, climbed up
> and spoke with the pilot and co-pilot to confirm that there was no
> threat aboard, McCarron said.
> 
> 
> "This turned to be a drill for us," McCarron said.
> 
> 
> Passengers were taken off the plane after it landed at 6:52 p.m., but
> were held while authorities investigated.
> 
> 
> It wasn't until 9:15 p.m. that the event was officially deemed a false
> alarm by airport officials. Mexicana ticket counter workers said their
> managers were not immediately available to discuss the incident.
> 
> 
> Ratti said the mistake had nothing to do with any actions of the
> passengers. Some of those aboard were annoyed at the mishap.
> 
> 
> "They hold us for two hours because of a communications error," said
> Flight 976 passenger Margarita Contreras, of San Francisco. She had
> been vacationing with her husband.
> 
> http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=533&ncid=533&e=3&u=/ap
> /20030429/ap_on_re_us/plane_trouble
> 
> 
> 
> =======================================
> "A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional
> maturity." -- Sigmund Freud, General Introduction to Psychoanlysis
> (1952)
> Lat/Long: 38-54-14.60N / 097-14-09.07W
> http://www.usflag.org/gadsden.html
> 
> 
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