Error aboard Air Europa plane triggered hijacking alert at Amsterdam airport. The pilot has accidentally triggered the alert while explaining the meaning of the command to an intern.
▲ The “suspicious situation” that was merely a “false alarm” forced the closure of at least one Amsterdam airport terminal
Dutch police were called on Wednesday to investigate a “suspicious situation” aboard a plane at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport heading for Madrid. But the situation was a false alarm. At the root of the incident was ultimately a mistake by an AirEuropa pilot who accidentally triggered an aircraft hijacking alert.
According to Dutch media, the incident was reported to have taken place aboard a plane that would be at terminal D of the airport just before takeoff. The pilot would be explaining to a trainee what the cockpit buttons meant, when he accidentally pressed the button that warns of hijacking the aircraft.
According to witnesses quoted by De Teelegraf newspaper , although there was no sign of chaos, the incident led to some distress among the passengers, who had to be removed from inside the plane.
Air Europa meanwhile acknowledged on Twitter the mistake and confirmed that it was all a “false alarm”, apologizing for what happened. The airline also ensures that all passengers are “perfectly” and expect to be able to take off as soon as possible.
