Small plane 'hijacked' in Canada, Vancouver airport halts operations, grounds flights
In response to the alert, operations at the busy Vancouver airport were temporarily suspended, and nine incoming flights had to be diverted, AFP reported.
The plane that was "hijacked" was a Cessna 172, operated by a flying club in Victoria. The suspect was the only person aboard the plane and was taken into custody after the flight landed in Vancouver at 2:15 am IST on Wednesday.
According to Global News Canada, the halting of flight arrivals at the Vancouver airport lasted for 39 minutes.
According to a passenger's post online, police chased the plane as it landed, and the suspect who flew the plane appeared. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the "suspect was arrested without incident. "
Visuals viral online showed the suspect, surrounded by cops and standing with his hands in the air on the airport runway next to a Cessna plane.
Public broadcaster CBC shared an eyewitness account, describing the flight as "flying low in an airspace a small plane usually wouldn't be in".
"A few minutes later, we saw a second pass ... the plane was making a big clockwise circle," witness Paul Heeney was quoted as saying.
Flight operations have reportedly resumed at the airport, but there may still be some delays.
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