Stories that begin with a distress call from an airplane don't often end happily, or with a spot of humor. When Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight SV872 sent up an alarm saying it had been hijacked as it approached its landing in Manila on Tuesday, the Philippines naturally responded with full mobilization; as soon as the plane touched down, it was immediately isolated. But as it turned out, there was no on-board attack. The flight crew had merely pushed the "hijack" button on accident, The Associated Press reports:
Manila airport manager Eddie Monreal and other officials said Flight SV872 from Jiddah made the distress call about 30 miles (48 kilometres) from the airport. Airport authorities asked for a verification of the emergency message and the flight crew confirmed the distress call twice, he said. It was not immediately clear how the confirmation was made, he said.However, the captain later told the control tower that a button indicating that a hijacking was in progress had been pushed accidently, Monreal said. [The Associated Press]
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