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Others on twitter have pointed out: the pilot's job is to follow instructions from ATC. e.g. https://twitter.com/DavideLeDingue/status/1396535116848058376 http

Others on twitter have pointed out: the pilot's job is to follow instructions from ATC. e.g. https://twitter.com/DavideLeDingue/status/1396535116848058376 https://twitter.com/DavideLeDingue/status/139653511684805837... The blame of this debacle does not lie with RyanAir, notwithstanding the way that their press release reads like "then Mrs Lincoln was slightly delayed at the theatre." https://twitter.com/jen20/status/1396661846187335680 https://twitter.com/jen20/status/1396661846187335680

app4soft 5y ago
> the pilot's job is to follow instructions from ATC ... until pirates entered to cabin: > What we know so far: KGB operatives boarded the plane in Athens this morning together with Roman Protasevich (he noticed dodgy-looking ppl taking pics of him at the gate). Then when the plane has entered Belarus airspace KGB officers initiated a fight with the Ryanair crew (1/2)[0] > insisting there’s an IED onboard. Eventually the crew was forced to send out SOS (literally moments before the plane would've left Belarus airspace). MiG-29 took off and escorted it to Minsk. Security services entered the plane and arrested Protasevich¹. (2/2)[1] ¹ Later yesterday press published info that not only Protasevich was arrested, but also his girlfriend which was also on that plane. [0] https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446650718117890 https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446650718117890 [1] https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446652349784068 https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446652349784068
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
  To be sure, you obey the person pointing a weapon at you, instead of ATC. But it's moot; the pilots would likely not have known that these air pirates and Belarus ATC were acting in concert, unless the pirates wanted them to know that. Confusion and chaos are friends to criminals.
wereHamster 5y ago
A pilot is absolutely in its right to ignore ATC if they think it's necessary for the safety of the passengers and/or aircraft. ATC is a service to pilots in the air, they provide support. The ultimate decision how to perform the flight lies with the captain. If the aircraft was intercepted by fighters, that makes it more difficult to disobey ATCs orders. But if an ATC tells the aircraft to do X, the pilot can say «No, I'm not going to follow your instructions (because it would endanger the safety of the aircraft and/or passengers) and I'm going to do Y instead». It helps to convince the ATC of the situation if the pilot declares an emergency. Declaring an emergency is something that happens all the time, at most it means some paperwork for the pilot after they land.
- himinlomax 5y ago
  I doubt the pilots knew anything about the reason for the piracy. The only thing they knew was what the ATC told them, no matter how outlandish, and that they had MiGs intercepting them.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
    Right. Confusion and chaos are friends to criminals. It's likely that by design of the criminals, the pilots were unaware or unsure of what was actually going on, until it was too late. The IED story turned out to be false, and we still don't know about the MiGs.

app4soft 5y ago

> the pilot's job is to follow instructions from ATC ... until pirates entered to cabin: > What we know so far: KGB operatives boarded the plane in Athens this morning together with Roman Protasevich (he noticed dodgy-looking ppl taking pics of him at the gate). Then when the plane has entered Belarus airspace KGB officers initiated a fight with the Ryanair crew (1/2)[0] > insisting there’s an IED onboard. Eventually the crew was forced to send out SOS (literally moments before the plane would've left Belarus airspace). MiG-29 took off and escorted it to Minsk. Security services entered the plane and arrested Protasevich¹. (2/2)[1] ¹ Later yesterday press published info that not only Protasevich was arrested, but also his girlfriend which was also on that plane. [0] https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446650718117890 https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446650718117890 [1] https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446652349784068 https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396446652349784068

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
To be sure, you obey the person pointing a weapon at you, instead of ATC. But it's moot; the pilots would likely not have known that these air pirates and Belarus ATC were acting in concert, unless the pirates wanted them to know that. Confusion and chaos are friends to criminals.

wereHamster 5y ago

A pilot is absolutely in its right to ignore ATC if they think it's necessary for the safety of the passengers and/or aircraft. ATC is a service to pilots in the air, they provide support. The ultimate decision how to perform the flight lies with the captain. If the aircraft was intercepted by fighters, that makes it more difficult to disobey ATCs orders. But if an ATC tells the aircraft to do X, the pilot can say «No, I'm not going to follow your instructions (because it would endanger the safety of the aircraft and/or passengers) and I'm going to do Y instead». It helps to convince the ATC of the situation if the pilot declares an emergency. Declaring an emergency is something that happens all the time, at most it means some paperwork for the pilot after they land.

himinlomax 5y ago
I doubt the pilots knew anything about the reason for the piracy. The only thing they knew was what the ATC told them, no matter how outlandish, and that they had MiGs intercepting them.
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
  Right. Confusion and chaos are friends to criminals. It's likely that by design of the criminals, the pilots were unaware or unsure of what was actually going on, until it was too late. The IED story turned out to be false, and we still don't know about the MiGs.