Hijacked plane escaped collision with tanker at Amritsar airport

Hijacked plane escaped collision with tanker at Amritsar airport
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA

AMRITSAR, DECEMBER 25: The hijacked Indian Airlines Airbus had a near miss at the Raja Sansi Airport here when it came within a couple of feet of being hit by an oil tanker which was on its way to refuel the aircraft.

Former border range Inspector General of Police J P Birdi said today that the tanker was dispatched to the Airbus after the hijackers demanded refuelling. As the tanker neared the aircraft, its pilot was ordered to take off by the hijackers and the plane, which had picked up speed, missed the approaching tanker by a couple of feet, he said.

Birdi said the left wing of the plane just missed the tanker. The hijackers probably panicked on seeing the tanker coming towards the plane and asked the pilot to take off without being refuelled. The plane, which was low on fuel, landed at the Lahore after a few minutes.

Birdi, who was incharge of the security operations at the airport last night, said that during the 47-minute stay at the airport, the engines of the aircraft were never switched off. ``We requested the pilot to switch off the engines for refuelling,'' he said.

The hijackers kept telling the pilot to move the plane from one point to another on the runaway as they might have suspected that an attempt would be made to storm the carrier, the IGP said.

Armed Punjab police commandos had been stationed close to the plane and along the runaway, he added.

He said his main aim was to keep the aircraft at the Raja Sansi airport. But it took off when the tanker approached.

Birdi said though the conversation between the Air Traffic Control and the pilot were replayed a number of times today to pick up the instructions that the hijacker in the cockpit had been giving to the pilot, no conclusive proof could be obtained on their nationalities.

He said security arrangements at the airport had been further strengthened this morning and all concerned agencies were maintaining a close liaison.