PIA B773 near Manchester on May 24th 2013, safety threats on board

Last Update: May 26, 2013 / 14:01:57 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 24, 2013

Classification
Incident

Airline
PIA Pakistan International Airlines

Flight number
PK-709

Departure
Lahore, Pakistan

Destination
Manchester, United Kingdom

Aircraft Registration
AP-BID

Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-300

ICAO Type Designator
B773

A PIA Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration AP-BID performing flight PK-709 from Lahore (Pakistan) to Manchester,EN (UK) with 297 passengers and 11 crew, was descending through FL220 about 80nm east of Manchester when the crew reported possible terror activity on board of the aircraft. While RAF fighter aircraft were dispatched to intercept the Boeing 777-300 and escort the aircraft to London Stansted,EN (UK) the aircraft turned south towards London maintaining FL160, landed safely on Stansted's runway 22 and taxied to a remote stand where security forces surrounded the aircraft.

Authorities reported two male passengers (30 and 41) were arrested charged with endangering an aircraft, the incident does not appear to be related to terror activity, this however can not be ruled out and is still subject of investigation.

Essex police reported that the two male passengers are being held in custody for endangering an aircraft and have to appear in court on Monday (May 27th).

The airline reported that two men were making threats against the aircraft, this was noticed by cabin crew who informed the captain, who advised air traffic control.

Sources within the airline reported a flight attendant overheard talks of a bomb on board.

Passengers reported that two men were repeatedly trying to get to the cockpit, those two males were later arrested. Initially the crew had announced they were diverting because of weather in Manchester, after landing and after the two men were arrested the crew explained there had been a terror threat prompting the crew to raise an alert.

A search of aircraft and passengers did not find any suspicious item. The aircraft was released and departed with all but the 2 arrested passengers to Manchester reaching the destination with a delay of 11 hours.

Britain is on high alert following the murder of a British soldier in South London that according to British Government has been linked to terror activity.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 24, 2013

Classification
Incident

Airline
PIA Pakistan International Airlines

Flight number
PK-709

Departure
Lahore, Pakistan

Destination
Manchester, United Kingdom

Aircraft Registration
AP-BID

Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-300

ICAO Type Designator
B773

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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