Pilot error sparks IGI airport hijack scare on Kandahar-bound plane

New Delhi: A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight sent security officials at Delhi international airport into tizzy on Saturday after the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off. The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane, with nine crew members and 124 passengers and an infant, took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks, they said.

The pressing of 'hijack button' pushed all agencies concerned, including the National Security Guard (NSG), into action. NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said.

After a two-hour operation that created panic among the passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, they said. The Delhi-Kandahar FG312 flight was scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm. According to senior officials in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the plane, while taxiing for take-off, returned to the "isolation bay" presumably due to the pressing of the 'hijack button' by the crew.

The aircraft was cleared for departure on confirmation that it was an error by the captain, one of the BCAS officials said. Before the flight was allowed to fly out, secondary security checks were carried out and customs clearance of all passengers was taken.