Newspapers in Turkey are debating whether or not the two Atlas jet pilots should have abandoned the cockpit after their plane was hijacked. The pilots, Cemal Doganay and Faruk Çagimni, escaped by breaking a cockpit window and jumping to the ground shortly after the plane landed at Antalya airport to refuel. Meanwhile, the flight's 136 passengers and six crew members were being held hostage in the aircraft cabin. After the pilots left the plane, some passengers started fainting from lack of oxygen and the hijackers agreed to open the door. Passengers then began leaping out from the plane and apparently the hijackers lost control of the situation.

Some newspaper readers expressed concern that the pilots' licenses should be revoked — that their leaving the airplane to terrorists' control was an act of cowardice and betrayal. Others felt the pilots' actions was a smart counterterrorism move — one that led to the ultimate surrender of the hijackers. 

Atlas jet CEO Tuncay Doganer told the press that the pilots abandoning the plane was "part of the plan." But that contradicts what pilot Faruk Çagimni told English language SABAH Newspaper. 

Cagimni stated that he was threatened that one passenger will be killed if he does not leave the plane [sic]; besides he received an instruction to leave the plane.

Çagimni said: "I saw that the pirates [i.e. hijackers] introducing themselves as Al Qaeda were very serious. They threatened the cabin chief to throw away from the plane. They told [us] they knew how to fly a plane."

Media reports say as many as twenty commandos were on standby at the airport. 

(photo credit: SAHAH Newspaper: Atlas jet pilots Cemal Doganay and Faruk Çagimni)

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Turkish authorities say that an Egyptian national, Mommen Abdul Aziz Talikh, who hijacked an Atlas jet flying from Cyprus to Istanbul on Saturday, attended a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. Turkish Transport Minister Osman Gunes said Talikh was carrying a Syrian passport although he is believed to be "of Palestinian origin." State run news agency Anatolia reports that the jihadist spent time in a Saudi prison alongside a senior al Qaeda member named only as "Ahmad." From the International Herald Tribune:

Police did not say at which al-Qaida camp or which country Talikh received training, the agency said. Police also did not say why Talikh was jailed in Saudi Arabia.

Police said Talikh, who is of Palestinian origin, was born in Cairo and his family was still living in Saudi Arabia. His alleged accomplice, Mehmet Resat Ozlu, was from Turkey's southeastern city of Sanliurfa.

Mommen Talikh and Mehmet Ozlu reportedly shared an apartment together in Northern Cyprus. Ozlu was registered with the local university in the literature department. Talikh worked as a waiter. According to police, the men claim that they wanted to go to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and that it was for this reason they had asked that the plane be taken to Iran which borders Afghanistan. It's a bizarre and highly implausible story — Talikh didn't need to hijack a passenger plane the last time he went to Afghanistan — but then again this information is coming from the same Turkish officials who shook hands with the hijackers after they surrendered. 

From National Public Radio:

In the end, the hijackers surrendered with their hands in the air. They shook hands with Turkish officials before being seated in a police car and taken away for interrogation.

This is the fifth hijacking or attempted hijacking involving Turkish airspace and/or Turkish planes in four years. In all of those instances, including the hijacking of an Atlas jet on Saturday, the hijackers claimed, falsely, to be carrying bombs.  

The Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI, reports that "it is also said that Talikh may have ties with some leading Al Qaeda operatives," (translated from Turkiye Haberci) If this is the case, it is a much bigger story than it already is.  

Ercan International Airport, where the hijackers boarded the Atlas jet flight, is the principal airport for the Turkish-controlled area of Cyprus called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, or TRNC. The TRNC is not recognized by international law. Flights from Ercan Airport fly only to Turkey. 

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A Syrian Passport holder, who authorities say may be Palestinian, and a Turkish man hijacked an Atlasjet Airlines flight from Cyprus to Istanbul earlier today and demanded to be taken to Iran or Syria. Alaaddin Yuksel, the Governor of Antalya, Turkey, told reporters that the men claimed to be members of al Qaeda. The ordeal is over an the men have surrendered. All the hostages have been released. From CNN:

Witnesses said the incident started shortly after the flight had taken off from Ercan airport in Turkish-recognized Northern Cyprus when two men from the back of the plane rushed to the front and tried to break open the cockpit door.

When their attempts failed, witnesses said the men began talking to the flight attendants in a mix of Arabic and English and asked to be taken to either Iran or Syria.

Passenger Ercan Tekkan told Reuters that thought the plane was going to crash: 

"The plane made some maneuvers and we thought the plane was going to crash … Then the plane landed and the pilots escaped from the cockpit while the hijackers kept kicking the cockpit door," he said. 

Another passenger, Barkin Inan, told CNN the experience was "terrifying" but noneless tried to summon fellow passengers to action. 

"They [the hijackers] looked anxious and were sweating. They went towards the cockpit. I shouted 'hijackers' to warn the other passengers but most of them were asleep," he said.

After the pilots made an emergency landing, the pilots fled the plane. This is an unusual move in a hijacking, (i.e. the captain stays with the ship) but the CEO of the airline's parent company explained why:

Aydin Kiziltan, CEO of Worldfocus, which owns the plane and had leased it to Atlas-Jet, said the pilots had also left the aircraft to prevent the hijackers from forcing them to fly the plane. The pilots left the plane through the cockpit window under orders from security forces, aviation authorities said. 

Atlasjet CEO Tuncay Doganer told reporters:  

"The adventure that started early in the morning finally came to an end…With the two hijackers having surrendered, the incident ended with no bloodshed." 

It remains unclear what weapons the men used to hijack the plane. Most news agencies are reporting that the men claimed to have a bomb and one was armed with a knife. Apparently, a third passenger is being considered as a possible accomplice. 

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Is airline passenger John Doe being sued by the imams for reporting their suspicious behavior, or not? That is the question that apparently remains unanswered. Washington Times reporter Audrey Hudson filed a report yesterday chronicling the behind the scenes dispute over whether or not the imams are suing the John Doe passengers from a November 2006, US Airways flight from which the imams were removed.   

Frederick J. Goetz, one of the the imams' attorneys, says that the six Muslim clerics have dropped the John Doe passengers from their federal lawsuit. But the Becket Fund, a "religious-freedom advocacy group" offering free legal representation to the John Does, says the imams lawyers are playing games. According to Hudson, Becket Fund President Kevin J. Hasson went so far as to send the imams' attorney a pre-written document which would officially release the John Does from the case if signed. But so far, the imams' attorneys refuse to sign. 

"Now we"re making it easy for them; if they truly mean not to sue the passengers, all they have to do is sign on the dotted line," Mr. Hasson said.

The plaintiffs' failure to formally dismiss the passengers from the suit is "another sign that what they're really up to is trying to intimidate future airline passengers from coming forward with their suspicions," Mr. Hasson said.

"That is outrageous and has nothing to do with religious liberty. And we will continue to fight them every step of the way," Mr. Hasson said of the imams' lawsuit.

Mr. Goetz said he will not respond to the Becket Fund's request, because the court has yet to approve the group's amicus brief, filed Aug. 1, that requests charges against the "John Doe" passengers be dropped.

The Minneapolis Airport Commission, named alongside US Airways in the imams' federal lawsuit suit, said through its spokesman, Pat Hogan, that its attorneys have not been notified that the John Doe passengers have been dropped from the suit.

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Syrian cleric Yassin Nassari — caught at Luton Airport in England carrying blueprints for a Quassam artillery rocket — has been found guilty of possessing documents "likely to be useful to a terrorist" and sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison. Nassari, who lives in England, was returning from Syria and Holland with his wife and their baby when they were stopped at the airport last year. The BBC has more:

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Excerpted From http://www.theaviationnation.com/2007/02/13/american-airlines-flight-62-terror-probe/

Tuesday, 13 Feb 2007

American Airlines Flight 62: A Terrorist Probe?

By Annie Jacobsen in category Dry Runs and Probes, American: Flight 63

The following is an email I received detailing a “serious probe” on board American Airlines flight 62 traveling from Paris to Miami. The information comes to me second-hand — from a trusted source in the field. American Airlines spokesman John Hotard confirmed the incident on flight 62 with me, stating “there was a disturbance on board, it was handled by crew.” I asked Mr. Hotard the status of the men who were detained by FBI. Hotard told me “for security reasons, I can’t comment further.”

Here it is, unedited:

“This is not meant to scare, but it probably will. Consider yourself informed and warned that the threat is real. This crew reported that they were not prepared that something of this nature could be happening to them.

Flt 62, Paris to MIA [Miami], a few weeks ago. 2 maybe 4 mid-eastern types causing minor disturbance from the get-go. Nothing that the FAs [flight attendants] couldn’t deal with, but, in hindsight, they seemed to be pushing the envelope. Cross-cabin activity, hanging out in the forward galley, complaining about everything, etc. Mid-Atlantic, the FO [First Officer, or Co-Pilot] called to return to the cockpit after his crew-rest break. One of the perps [perpetrators] was in the forward galley, was instructed by a FA to go aft, but didn’t. As the cockpit door opened, another perp suddenly appeared from around the galley, dropped his shoulder into FO while the first one got in the way of the FO’s attempt to block the other…here I’m not certain…so….wait for the movie.

FO (one of our first FFDO’s [Federal Flight Deck Officers*]) was about to pull his flashlight to use as a weapon in a counter attack, but thought better of it not knowing how many more perps he might have to fight, called “lockdown” to the FB [secondary “B” First Officer], inside the cockpit, who slammed the door. As soon as the perps heard the word lockdown, they retreated to their seats.

I’m not doing justice to the story, but, if not an attempt on the cockpit, this was a serious probe.

Crew considered divert, but since the threat diminished and seemed to be contained, they pressed on towards MIA. Flight was met in MIA by FBI, FAMS [Federal Air Marshal Service] (none aboard, by the way), AA [American Airlines] Security suits, etc. During the de-brief, which lasted several hours, the FAMs told the pilots that they would have “dropped” both of the perps with the first shove near the cockpit door. Perps claimed to not understand English, were detained for 4 days and deported, back to Paris, when they are free to attend Sunday school, tell their buddies of their Adventure and plan their next move.

Enjoying the story so far? It’s good we can’t carry guns on Int’l [International] trips, eh?

Upsetting is that we all have to learn of this, by happenstance. Why didn’t you and your last crew know of this? We took a delay yesterday while this FB detailed the entire event to my crew. Believe me, there were no disbelievers that the terrorist threat is real in my crew by the time we boarded.

I’m more than upset that this is still a secret! The FB is a man I’ve flown with often, trust completely and attended FFDO (Federal Flight Deck Officer) training with a year ago January. I hope I’ve presented his story accurately, but am certain that the basic details are very close.

On a separate note, American Airlines flight 63, also traveling from Paris to Miami, was the subject of a thwarted terrorist attack in December of 2001 when “shoe bomber” Richard Reid tried to bring down the aircraft by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes. Reid was later found guilty of terrorism charges in federal court in Massachusetts and sentenced to life in prison.

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* Armed Federal Flight Deck Officers are not allowed to carry their guns while flying international routes.

All Credit to The Aviation Nation at:
http://www.theaviationnation.com/2007/02/13/american-airlines-flight-62-terror-probe/

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