Transport
Fighter jets sent to intercept Vueling plane due to lack of communication
03.09.12 - 12:37 -
When the Vueling VY8366 flight to Amsterdam took off from Malaga airport as planned at 10.40 on Wednesday morning the passengers could not have imagined the dramatic arrival that awaited them. In fact they were unaware that a communications failure between the aircraft and the Amsterdam control tower had been enough, according to security protocol, to sound hijack alarm bells. While fighter jets flew up to intercept the potentially hijacked plane, on the ground Netherlands was preparing for the worst.
Dutch TV station NOS has since broadcast radio communications between the aircraft and the fighter jets in which the confused pilot asks the F-16s if they are hijacking him. After landing passengers were kept on board for two hours, being told that there was a problem at the airport.
Schiphol was already having an eventful day. That morning the airport had had to be partially closed after a World War II bomb was discovered.
