NEW DELHI // An investigation was under way yesterday to determine what led the pilot of a flight from Abu Dhabi to Kerala to claim the plane being hijacked.
On Friday, an Air India Express flight was diverted from Thiruvananthapuram instead of landing in Kochi. The pilot, Rupali Waghmare, allegedly pressed the alarm button in the cockpit, and threw a note claiming she was under attack out of the cockpit window.
There was no hijacking. Instead passengers angry that the flight had been delayed and then diverted had stormed the cockpit.
The chief minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, ordered an investigation to look into two sets of complaints, from the pilot and the passengers, Mr Chandy's office said in the statement released on Saturday.
Kerala police, headed by the director general of police, KS Balasubramanian, confirmed an investigation on Saturday was under way based on the pilot's complaint she was threatened by passengers who broke into the cockpit. The pilot also complained she was prevented from leaving the plane.
Of the 146 passengers, six passengers were detained briefly before being released after they landed at Kochi Airport on Friday evening. They will continue to be questioned during the course of the investigation, said KS Vimal, assistant commissioner of police, who is also part of the investigation.
"We have started looking into the matter. This is an ongoing investigation so it will take time," said Mr Vimal. "Those identified will be called upon to answer questions to about who forcibly entered the cockpit."
Ms Waghmare and the crew of the plane are also expected to be questioned as part of the investigation.
A team of officials representing Arun Mishra, the director general of civil aviation's office, also arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday to start their investigation based on a report submitted by airport officials.
The flight was diverted from Kochi due to bad weather and landed in Thiruvananthapuram at 7am, where passengers were told to travel to Kochi, approximately 200km away, by road. Agitated passengers strapped themselves to their seats and refused to leave the plane, after being stranded on the runway for nine hours.
[ sbhattacharya@thenational.ae ]
Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
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