Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

A pilot caused a hijacking scare at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after accidentally sending a distress code

FILE PHOTO: A view of Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam Reuters

  • Dutch police responded to a "suspicious situation" at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport Wednesday evening.
  • Air Europa, a Spanish airline, tweeted that a distress signal had been "activated by mistake," indicating a hijacking attempt. The airline said that it was a false alarm.
  • Dutch paper De Telegraaf reported that the pilot was showing a trainee in the cockpit "how everything works" when they set the transponder code to 7500 — which signifies a hijacking in progress — by mistake.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories
Advertisement

A false hijacking alarm aboard a plane sitting at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport drew a heavy police response Wednesday evening.

The incident happened just before 7:00 p.m. local time, according to Matt Hallmann, a passenger transiting through Schiphol. Photos posted to social media showed the airports D-concourse blocked off by police.

A customer service agent at Schiphol, reached by phone, told Business Insider that the Royal Marechaussee, or the Dutch military police, were responding and referred questions to the government. A spokesperson for the Marechaussee did not immediately respond. The agency tweeted that it was investigating a "suspicious situation" on board.

Air Europa, a Spanish airline, tweeted that a distress signal on a plane scheduled to fly to Madrid was "activated by mistake," falsely suggesting that there was a hijacking attempt on board. Dutch police said at about 8:45 p.m. local time that passengers and crew had safely left the plane.

Advertisement

The transponder on the plane, which transmits a four digit code during flight, was accidentally set to code 7500, an emergency code that is used to signify a hijacking attempt in progress.

The code was inadvertently transmitted when the pilot was showing a trainee in the cockpit "how everything works," according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

Schiphol is the third busiest airport in Europe, following London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

air travel
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account