Latest news with #Cessna172
Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Ex-pilot called himself messiah on climate-change mission, day before alleged hijack
Published Jul 17, 2025 • 2 minute read A Cessna 172 sits on the tarmac at Vancouver International Airport. Reports of a plane flying erratically were made on Tuesday afternoon. Photo by SynSyx/Reddit The day before the suspected hijacking of a light aircraft triggered a security scare at Vancouver's airport this week, former commercial pilot Shaheer Cassim posted on social media that he was a 'messenger of Allah' sent to save humanity from climate change. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. 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Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A 39-year-old man with the same name has now been charged with hijacking, constituting terrorism, over the incident on Tuesday that saw Norad scramble F-15 fighter jets before the light plane safely landed. RCMP say the suspect had an 'ideological motive' and allegedly seized control of the plane at Victoria International Airport after threatening a flight instructor, before flying to Vancouver. Images posted on social media depicting the arrest of the Cessna's pilot on the north runway of YVR show a bearded man who resembles climate activist Cassim. In his Facebook post on Monday, Cassim says he's the 'messiah sent to save humanity from climate change and usher in an era of world peace.' He warns of 'abrupt runaway global warming' that will cause humans to go extinct within a few years. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 2012, Cassim held a news conference before going on a cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness for global warming. His Facebook profile says he was employed from 2008 to 2010 by now-defunct KD Air, a small airline based on Vancouver Island. The airline's former owners, Diana and Lars Banke, said in an interview that Cassim was one of the smartest and best pilots they ever worked with, calling him a fast learner who was highly intelligent. But Lars Banke said Cassim left the airline after getting 'bored' and then went to medical school. He also said Cassim believed the world was coming to an end. Diana Banke said she was 'very surprised' to hear of Cassim's charges, saying he was quite young when he worked for them and was 'like a kid.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Something would (have to) be going on that's not normal,' Lars Banke said. 'He was, I would say, a caring person.' Diana Banke said she remembered Cassim 'doing a really long bicycle trek,' and that he brought a dog along with him. Lars Banke said he recalled that Cassim was somewhat interested in environmentalism, but he was unaware of any kind of religious beliefs. 'He never spoke religion with us,' Diana Banke said. Cassim's online posts include musings on religion, climate science, and advocacy for tolerance and peace, including a claim 'the Angel Gabriel appeared before me and gave me a message from Allah.' 'I'm really surprised that he would've done something like this,' Diana Banke said. His Facebook profile says Cassim attended high school in Lloydminster, Alta., before studying aviation at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. He also describes himself as the editor of a blog devoted to the impact of climate change on the Arctic. It includes hundreds of posts since 2011, many of them highly technical, with the latest entry made on Saturday. It is titled: 'Will humans go extinct soon?' Celebrity Columnists MMA Canada Editorial Cartoons
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man charged with hijacking one day after flights grounded at Vancouver Airport
A man has been charged with hijacking, one day after an incident that saw flights grounded at Vancouver's airport for a little under an hour. Shaheer Cassim, who was born in 1986, has been charged with one count of hijacking, according to court records online. RCMP said that his next court appearance will be on July 22. On Tuesday afternoon, police arrested a man after a small Cessna 172 plane landed at the airport around 1:45 p.m. PT on Tuesday. They said that they had received reports around 1 p.m. that the plane had been hijacked from Vancouver Island before entering Vancouver International Airport (YVR) airspace. No one was injured. RCMP say the man they arrested was the sole occupant of the plane. A YVR spokesperson told CBC News on Tuesday that flights were grounded for just under 40 minutes as a result of the alleged hijacking, and nine flights had to be diverted to other airports. Few details were released by police on Tuesday. Richmond RCMP told CBC News on Wednesday that its federal counterparts had taken over the investigation. Under the Criminal Code, a charge of hijacking can be laid for a variety of reasons — which include confining people on board an aircraft against their will, transporting them to an unscheduled location against their will, or causing an aircraft to deviate from its flight plan by using force or threats. A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said that the hijacking also constitutes a terrorist offence and a terrorist activity under two sections of the Criminal Code. In a statement on Wednesday evening, police said that Cassim allegedly threatened a flight instructor and hijacked the plane at Victoria International Airport. "Investigators have determined the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace," said Sgt. Tammy Lobb, though she did not specify what the motive was. One in a million case, flying club says According to the Victoria International Airport, the aircraft is operated by the Victoria Flying Club. Club president Colin Williamson said that the club operated 12,000 flights per year, and this was the first case of its kind he had encountered, dubbing it "truly a one in a million situation." "We've had, you know, people bang a wing tip into another plane, you know, fender benders, if you will, hit marker lights ... I mean, all of that stuff happens when you run a flight school because you are teaching people to fly," he said. "But this? No, never. It's just completely out of the blue." Williamson said that he was limited in what information he could share with the media on Wednesday, and that RCMP were currently examining the plane before it could be given back to the flight club. The flight club president told CBC News that an instructor was required to check out the keys to the plane, and the man who allegedly hijacked the plane showed up, saying he wanted to be a passenger on a plane. However, Williamson did not go into detail about what happened after the instructor checked out the keys or whether the instructor was threatened, though he did confirm the man was not a member of the flight club. The Victoria Flying Club operates many types of passenger services, which include sightseeing tours, charter flights and discovery flights where a student pilot goes along with an instructor. Williamson said the club was looking after its staff and offering counselling, though he did not specify exactly what type of flight was involved in Tuesday's alleged hijacking incident. "It wasn't in any way anything special and ... one of our normal training planes that we fly all the time," he said. "Our people, I'm really proud of them," he added. "Everybody really pulled together ... because it's distressing, you know, because we're like family to each other." NORAD scrambles fighter jets A spokesperson for the Canadian Armed Forces told CBC News in a statement that the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) scrambled U.S. F-15 fighter jets in response to the alleged hijacking on Tuesday. NORAD said that they were deployed after reports that the civilian pilot of a "small general aviation aircraft" was not communicating with air traffic controllers. However, the flight had landed before fighter jets intercepted it. The spokesperson did not say where the fighter jets departed from. "NORAD F-15s responded to this incident as they were closest and able to be on scene the fastest," it wrote. "CF-18s were in the process of responding, but the incident resolved before any NORAD assets arrived on station." 'Some type of protest' In air traffic communications around the time of the alleged hijacking, unidentified air traffic controllers are heard saying just after 1:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday that the pilot of the Cessna "has indicated within 10 minutes he plans to land and expects to be arrested." "There is a Cessna over the airport, around 500 feet, some type of protest," an unidentified air traffic controller is heard saying on another another air traffic control recording, controllers were asked when the last time something like this occurred. The answer was, "Maybe the '70s."
New Straits Times
12 hours ago
- General
- New Straits Times
FACTBOX: Who were the two pilots who flew the Air India jet that crashed?
INDIA: A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month indicates the captain cut the flow of fuel to the Boeing 787 jet's engines, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Below is a brief profile of the two pilots based on the preliminary investigation report and media reports: CAPTAIN SUMEET SABHARWAL The 56-year-old had an airline transport pilot's licence that was valid until May 14, 2026. He had obtained clearances to fly as pilot-in-command on several aircraft, including the Boeing 787 and 777 and the Airbus A310. He had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours, of which 8,596 hours were on a Boeing 787. Sabharwal had called his family from the airport, assuring them he would ring again after landing in London, according to a Times of India report. A pilot who had briefly interacted with him told Reuters he was a "gentleman." FIRST OFFICER CLIVE KUNDER The 32-year-old had a commercial pilot licence that was issued in 2020 and was valid until Sept 26. He had obtained clearances to fly Cessna 172 and Piper PA-34 Seneca aircraft as pilot-in-command and as co-pilot on Airbus A320 and Boeing 787 jets. He had a total flying experience of 3,403 hours. Of that, 1,128 hours of experience were as a 787 co-pilot. Since his school-going days, Kunder was passionate about flying, and in 2012, he began serving as a pilot, Indian media reported, citing his relatives. He joined Air India in 2017.
Hamilton Spectator
13 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
B.C. pilot charged with hijacking and terrorism over Vancouver flight
VANCOUVER - A man who allegedly seized a light aircraft in Victoria, setting off a security scare at Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday, has been charged with hijacking and terrorism. A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said Wednesday that a charge of hijacking had been filed in Richmond, B.C., constituting a 'terrorist activity' and a 'terrorist offence' under two sections of the Criminal Code. She provided a court file number that matches a case in B.C. provincial court involving a man named Shaheer Cassim. A man with the same name is a former commercial airline pilot based in Victoria who has previously been involved in climate activism, and social media photographs of that man resemble the person arrested on the runway at YVR. Landings at YVR had been halted for more than half an hour on Tuesday afternoon as the Cessna 172 circled at a low altitude in the airspace above the airport. In 2012, Cassim held a news conference in Victoria at the start of a cross-country bicycle trek to raise awareness of global warming. Cassim said at the time that he was a commercial pilot. He used to work for KD Air, a now-defunct airline that was based in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. The former owners, Lars and Diana Banke, sold the airline years ago. They said in an interview that Cassim was one of the smartest and best pilots they ever had, but that he believed the world was ending. Lars Banke estimated Cassim flew for KD Air for 'just over a year.' 'He was a good pilot,' Banke said, adding that he was only vaguely aware of the hijacking incident, having seen something on YouTube. 'He was really, really, smart,' he said. 'His intelligence was a problem.' Banke said Cassim got bored and left his pilot job to go to medical school. The couple described him as a caring person, but they hadn't known him to be religious. 'I would say he has a care for the planet,' Lars Banke said. 'He's in no way an evil person, anyway. I mean, he was gonna be a doctor ... and then he was gonna be a farmer because he thought the world was gonna end, so I mean he might not be the most stable.' The couple said they'd heard from Cassim about two years ago, getting a phone call about a potential visit, but nothing came of it and they hadn't heard from him since. The Cessna at the centre of Tuesday's scare had taken off just before 1 p.m. from Victoria airport, where a spokesman said the aircraft was operated by the Victoria Flying Club. Flight radar shows it flew straight to Vancouver's airport before circling for about 25 minutes. Police said it landed at YVR at about 1:45 p.m., and social media videos show a swarm of police vehicles closing in on the taxiing plane, before the bearded pilot emerges and walks backwards towards officers who train their weapons on him. Norad confirmed on Wednesday that it scrambled F-15 fighter jets in response to the alleged hijacking. A spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defence Command said additional F-18 fighters were also being readied to respond, but the Cessna landed before those planes were deployed. 'I can confirm that the civilian pilot landed his aircraft before the fighters intercepted it,' she said. 'So, an interception did not occur because of the aircraft landing.' RCMP have not disclosed a potential motive in the case, but a recorded conversation involving a Vancouver air traffic controller suggests the alleged hijacking may have been motivated by 'some type of protest.' In the conversation, which is part of an online archive of air traffic recordings, the grounded pilot of a commercial jet asks why his plane is being held at the gate. An unidentified air traffic controller responds that a Cessna is circling about 500 feet over the airport in an apparent protest and the situation could last 'a couple hours,' although the Cessna landed about 10 minutes later. The controller and the grounded pilot also discuss when such an incident last occurred, and one of them is heard saying 'maybe the '70s.' Another recording of a radio conversation between airport operations for arrivals and departures that occurred while the aircraft was circling above says the suspect 'expected to be arrested.' The incident resulted in what YVR called a 39-minute 'ground stop' for arrivals. Vancouver air-traffic control first mentioned a 'rogue aircraft' shortly after 1 p.m. on Tuesday, asking nearby aircraft to keep an eye out for the Cessna and to inform controllers of any need to 'manoeuvre as necessary.' The Victoria Flying Club said no details could be shared due to an active and ongoing investigation 'with numerous factors still being assessed.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025.
Global News
14 hours ago
- Global News
Man who stole plane from Victoria just walked up, took Cessna, flying club says
Colin Williamson, president of the Victoria Flying Club, said that what happened on Tuesday afternoon was a 'one in a million situation.' 'This has never happened before, so we are all a little bit surprised, would be a mild way of putting it,' he said. The Victoria Flying School has been operating for almost 80 years but has never dealt with a situation where a plane was taken by an unauthorized person. Williamson said he happened to be landing at Victoria's International Airport on Tuesday afternoon when he noticed a Cessna 172 taking its time to take off. 'I just assumed, you know, student pilot,' he said. 'Student pilots can be a bit slow. Grabbed my lunch and I see the security car drive up here, and see the RCMP going into the tower and then the RCMP here and I realize, oh, this is not an ordinary day.' Story continues below advertisement A man who took control of one of the club's planes then flew it to Vancouver International Airport, forcing them to close their airspace, ground flights and divert nine others. 1:04 Video captures moment police detain pilot of stolen small plane at Vancouver airport He was eventually arrested by Richmond RCMP officers on the tarmac of the north runway. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We've heard some rumours about, yeah, he just walked out the door and the keys were in the plane and he flew the plane,' Williamson said. He confirmed the suspect was not a member of the club and the instructor involved was doing OK but he could not provide any further details. 'Unfortunately, I cannot speak to you about that,' he said. 'Because police are clearly very concerned about conducting the investigation in the proper manner.' Story continues below advertisement 2:21 NORAD alerted to small plane 'hijacking' incident at Vancouver airport Former pilot Paul Gooch said the outcome of what happened could have been so much worse. 'I think we are very fortunate that the guy that hijacked the airplane did not crash it into some residential area or into some airport facilities,' he said. The club will now be reviewing its procedures but it is too soon to say if there will be any changes. Staff have been offered counselling and time off, if necessary.
