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48 hours on, officials still clueless about what triggered emergency code on Mumbai-bound Air India flight; DGCA remains unable to determine whether the false hijacking alert received by the Delhi ATC stemmed from pilot error, ATC misinterpretation, or a technical malfunction in the aircraft’s systems
DEPARTURE: Air India Flight AI2957, an Airbus A320Neo, begins its routine Delhi-Mumbai journey, taking off from Indira Gandhi International Airport at 8.36 pm on Monday. Illustrations/Uday Mohite
A routine Air India flight from Delhi to Mumbai turned into a high-stakes security situation on Monday night after a mysterious hijacking alert triggered emergency protocols at two of India’s busiest airports. Even after 48 hours of investigation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) remains unable to determine whether the false hijacking alert received by the Delhi Air Traffic Control (ATC) stemmed from pilot error, ATC misinterpretation, or a technical malfunction in the aircraft’s systems.
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ALERT TRIGGERED: Just four minutes after take-off, at 8.40 pm, Delhi Air Traffic Control receives the international hijacking distress code ‘7500’ from the aircraft’s transponder, setting emergency protocols in motion
The incident, which began shortly after take-off when Air India Flight AI2957 transmitted the international hijacking distress code ‘7500,’ prompted a full-scale emergency response that lasted several hours and led to the aircraft being isolated upon landing in Mumbai.
EMERGENCY LANDING: Mumbai airport declares a full-scale emergency at 9.30 pm as the aircraft approaches. The flight touches down at 9.47 pm, initiating comprehensive security measures
What happened that night
. Air India flight AI2957, an Airbus A320Neo (A320-251N), originally operated by Vistara and later merged into the Air India fleet, was scheduled to fly on the Delhi-Mumbai route.
. The aircraft took off from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 8.36 pm.
. At 8.40 pm, the Delhi ATC received an unlawful interference alert (more commonly known as hijacking alert) via the aircraft’s transponder, which squawked 7500, the international emergency squawk code for discreetly reporting a hijacking incident to the ATC.
. At 8.43 pm, the pilots informed the Delhi ATC that it was a false alert, and the aircraft continued its journey to Mumbai.
. Uncertain whether the alert was actually false or if the pilots were forced to change the squawk and remove the 7500 ident, the Delhi airport
and security agencies were alerted by the Delhi ATC.
The Delhi ATC also informed the Mumbai ATC of the incident. All emergency protocols were activated at both airports.
. At 9.30 pm, a full-scale emergency was declared at Mumbai airport, and the aircraft landed at 9.47 pm.
. The aircraft was directed to an isolated bay at Mumbai airport, and security agencies including Central Industrial Security Force (CISF ), which is also responsible for airport security in India, and National Security Guard (NSG) checked the aircraft.
. Around 11 pm, passengers were allowed to disembark from the aircraft.
SECURITY SWEEP: At 10.00 pm, elite NSG commandos and CISF personnel conduct thorough security checks of the aircraft at an isolated bay, following standard anti-hijacking protocols; (right) ALL CLEAR: After rigorous security verification and nearly two hours of checks, passengers are finally permitted to disembark from the aircraft at approximately 11.00 pm
DGCA officials speak
Officials from DGCA told mid-day, “We are currently investigating the matter. The pilot has claimed it to be a false alarm, but it needs to be taken seriously. Until the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) is analysed, we will not be sure about what exactly happened in the cockpit at this time. We are currently investigating whether this was a pilot error, an error on the part of the Delhi ATC who misread the squawk code on the radar screen, or a technical glitch with a bad transponder or decoder if the squawk was flashed for a brief period of time.”
BCAS speaks
Senior officials from BCAS who are aware of the development said, “In such cases, even if it is a false alert, the security protocol remains the same. 7500 was squawked for three whole minutes.
In such cases, it cannot be ruled out that the individual responsible for the pilot squawking 7500 would have forced the pilot to change it in these three minutes. We cannot risk ignoring the alert even if the pilots on board say it was a false alert.”
Airline responds
Though there is no official statement from Air India, the airline officials have confirmed the incident. An Air India official aware of the development said, “There has been no indication of any crew involvement in the incident. It could have been a technical error; we will only know what actually happened after the DGCA inquiry is concluded.”
Monday
Day of the incident
Similar incident
In June 2005, a Virgin Atlantic flight VS45 from London’s Heathrow Airport to John F Kennedy International Airport in New York started squawking 7500 over the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in Canadian fighter jets intercepting the airliner and escorting it. The aircraft later landed safely in Canada. The 7500 squawk was found to be a false alert.
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