Kolkata: It was business as usual in the air traffic control center at Kolkata airport when a system alarm grabbed a controller's attention. A computer generated staccato voice warned: 'Hijack! Hijack!' The plane's transponder was also squawking the hijack code. To make sure the alarm wasn't a false one, the controller needed an affirmation from the captain without alerting the hijackers. He asked the captain to turn right to affirm. As the controller saw the blip on his radar screen move to the right, he called the shift-in-charge to alert the chain of command leading right to the top.
Meanwhile, another controller heard the pilot's distress call "Mayday! Mayday!" on his headphone. A Dhaka-bound aircraft had been diverted to the city due to poor visibility. The pilot said he was virtually out of fuel and needed to dive for the runway. The controller knew this was maximum distress and warned all other aircraft. All other flights had to move out of its path as the captain was given the nod for an emergency descent.
07/01/15 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India
Meanwhile, another controller heard the pilot's distress call "Mayday! Mayday!" on his headphone. A Dhaka-bound aircraft had been diverted to the city due to poor visibility. The pilot said he was virtually out of fuel and needed to dive for the runway. The controller knew this was maximum distress and warned all other aircraft. All other flights had to move out of its path as the captain was given the nod for an emergency descent.
07/01/15 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India
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