6 ms·

Flight ET702 hijacked – live Twitter feed

42 points by lars512 13y ago

lars512 13y ago
Details are sketchy. It's believed to be hijacked. Having circled Geneva for some time, it's landed. The airport seems to be closed. The air traffic control live stream: http://www.liveatc.net/search/?icao=gva http://www.liveatc.net/search/?icao=gva Anyone with any actual non-speculation, feel free to post.
adenot 13y ago
It's going in circle atm: http://www.flightradar24.com/ETH702/2ba40ab http://www.flightradar24.com/ETH702/2ba40ab
lars512 13y ago
Collating some information in this globally editable Google Doc https://docs.google.com/a/yencken.org/document/d/1uxcXrdPVauIJqeDnhzgppzIduiOYu5ZilvS7bYnh5lg/edit# https://docs.google.com/a/yencken.org/document/d/1uxcXrdPVau...
emmapersky 13y ago
Airline has confirmed hijacking. passengers and crew safe http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/news/default.aspx http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/news/default.aspx
- ivan_ah 13y ago
  Okay, show's over. Everyone came out save and sound. via http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/5619177-aeroport-de-cointrin-ferme-apres-un-detournement-d-avion-a-geneve.html http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/5619177-aeroport-de-cointrin-f...
emmapersky 13y ago
Hijacking confirmed: http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/news/default.aspx http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/news/default.aspx all pax and crew safe.
rdl 13y ago
At least it wasn't an ET961 situation this time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961 (Hijackers were too dumb to understand fuel loading policies; aircraft ended up ditching into the Indian Ocean. Amazingly, 50 pax survived.)
- corin_ 13y ago
  Actually it sounds like today's hijackers were indeed that dumb, they just managed to be circling over an airport by the time they ran out of fuel. (Or perhaps that wasn't a surprise to them and they knew they'd be safe over Geneva?)
  - rdl 13y ago
    I still can't imagine anyone obeying hijackers anymore. If someone got up on a plane and said he had a bomb, I'd be running toward him to knock him down and incapacitate (ideally, by killing) before he'd even stopped with his announcement. I'm pretty sure on most US airlines I'd be blocked by a bunch of other passengers doing the same thing. 9/11 really screwed things for hijackers. (EDIT: appears it was the co-pilot, and the reinforced door installed after 9/11 actually allowed him to keep the real pilot out! So at least it wasn't an EgyptAir 990 situation either...)
    - corin_ 13y ago
      That's certainly the common thought (that it would be impossible), but does it hold up in practice? Let's say a repeat of 9/11 happened, then judging by expected outcomes it would definitely be better to all rush the hijackers, even if half the plane died in subduing them it would be better than everyone dying (and more on the ground) if you let them do what they want. Today's example on the other hand, the best case scenario is what ended up happening (the hijacker/s don't have the goal of killing people, so there's a reasonable chance that everyone can survive), therefore is it worth taking the risk to stop them? In this situation, even one person dying while preventing them from taking control of the plane can actually be a worse outcome than leaving them to their negotiations. In terms of mathematical outcomes it's hard to say which course of action would be better: firstly because you couldn't give accurate probabilities, and secondly because the expected outcome might not match the best bet. For example, if preventing hijackers gives a 95% chance that at least one person dies, and leaving them to it gives a 1% chance that 50 people die, then played out over 1000s of times you're actually better not doing anything, but over a single time is it worth taking that risk? And then past that, even if these numbers were easy to analyse, how will people on board react when a.) emotions are running high and b.) rather than typing at my desk at work, I'm confronted with the situation that I'm the one risking my life to stop them. Even if I knew the odds meant they really needed to be stopped, I'm not sure I'd have the balls to run at men with weapons.
koala_advert 13y ago
Apparently the hijacker(s) wanted political asylum in Switzerland: http://www.jaunted.com/story/2014/2/17/02325/1000/travel/BREAKING%3A+Ethiopian+Plane+Hijacked%2C+Flown+to+Switzerland+for+Asylum http://www.jaunted.com/story/2014/2/17/02325/1000/travel/BRE...
- einhverfr 13y ago
  Probably not the best way to get political asylum.
wila 13y ago
Hijacker has been arrested according to this: http://jpupdates.com/2014/02/17/breaking-hijacked-ethiopian-airline-landed-in-geneva-airport/ http://jpupdates.com/2014/02/17/breaking-hijacked-ethiopian-...
NN88 13y ago
Its a hijacking: Live reddit thread with updates from /r/Aviation http://np.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1y46mi/possible_hijacking_in_progress_eth_702_squawking/ http://np.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1y46mi/possible_hij...
jessevdk 13y ago
I happened to be at the airport when it happened (still am). We got to hear that the airport closed due to "Operational problems". Plenty vague, but the internets prevails.
cyann 13y ago
Local newspaper with details [French]: http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/Un-pirate-de-l-air-detourne-un-avion-vers-laeroport-de-Geneve/story/27179086 http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/Un-pirate-de-l-air-d...
lelf 13y ago
Plot twist: it was co-pilot. Source: press conference Edit: video here http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurde-vom-Kopilot-entfuehrt-22505714 http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurd... Can someone translate? (French). Edit’: scratch that. (There was a press conference recording (yes, in French))
- jbrooksuk 13y ago
  Best use of "plot twist" I've seen. What a story!
- jmathai 13y ago
  I don't speak French but... http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurde-vom-Kopilot-entfuehrt-22505714 http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurd... Edit: confused if this article was requested to be translated to or from French. Mobile browsing sucks. Here is English. http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurde-vom-Kopilot-entfuehrt-22505714%3Fredirect%3Dmobi%26nocache%3D0.3424269447568804&usg=ALkJrhgVWxhJpUsfS_A1sODXTjkrzV02Fg http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&n...
- Myrmornis 13y ago
  Nit, just for the record, the article is in German, not French. But of course the error is perfectly understandable if the posters above are from non-European-language speaking countries.
jmathai 13y ago
@cnnbrk reported this an hour after it happened [1]. I turned CNN on the television and they were showing an Anthony Bourdain show. Google News showed only 5 results. Meanwhile, Twitter was streaming with links to flight maps and other updates. I realize news media might have to do more due diligence before reporting but from the face of it they seemed completely unaware. [1] https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/435294208824328192 https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/435294208824328192
eots 13y ago
How is his hacker news?

42 points by lars512 13y ago

Details are sketchy. It's believed to be hijacked. Having circled Geneva for some time, it's landed. The airport seems to be closed. The air traffic control live stream: http://www.liveatc.net/search/?icao=gva http://www.liveatc.net/search/?icao=gva Anyone with any actual non-speculation, feel free to post.

adenot 13y ago

It's going in circle atm: http://www.flightradar24.com/ETH702/2ba40ab http://www.flightradar24.com/ETH702/2ba40ab

lars512 13y ago

Collating some information in this globally editable Google Doc https://docs.google.com/a/yencken.org/document/d/1uxcXrdPVauIJqeDnhzgppzIduiOYu5ZilvS7bYnh5lg/edit# https://docs.google.com/a/yencken.org/document/d/1uxcXrdPVau...

emmapersky 13y ago

Airline has confirmed hijacking. passengers and crew safe http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/news/default.aspx http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/news/default.aspx

ivan_ah 13y ago
Okay, show's over. Everyone came out save and sound. via http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/5619177-aeroport-de-cointrin-ferme-apres-un-detournement-d-avion-a-geneve.html http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/5619177-aeroport-de-cointrin-f...

emmapersky 13y ago

Hijacking confirmed: http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/news/default.aspx http://www.ethiopianairlines.com/en/news/default.aspx all pax and crew safe.

rdl 13y ago

At least it wasn't an ET961 situation this time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961 (Hijackers were too dumb to understand fuel loading policies; aircraft ended up ditching into the Indian Ocean. Amazingly, 50 pax survived.)

corin_ 13y ago
Actually it sounds like today's hijackers were indeed that dumb, they just managed to be circling over an airport by the time they ran out of fuel. (Or perhaps that wasn't a surprise to them and they knew they'd be safe over Geneva?)
- rdl 13y ago
  I still can't imagine anyone obeying hijackers anymore. If someone got up on a plane and said he had a bomb, I'd be running toward him to knock him down and incapacitate (ideally, by killing) before he'd even stopped with his announcement. I'm pretty sure on most US airlines I'd be blocked by a bunch of other passengers doing the same thing. 9/11 really screwed things for hijackers. (EDIT: appears it was the co-pilot, and the reinforced door installed after 9/11 actually allowed him to keep the real pilot out! So at least it wasn't an EgyptAir 990 situation either...)
  - corin_ 13y ago
    That's certainly the common thought (that it would be impossible), but does it hold up in practice? Let's say a repeat of 9/11 happened, then judging by expected outcomes it would definitely be better to all rush the hijackers, even if half the plane died in subduing them it would be better than everyone dying (and more on the ground) if you let them do what they want. Today's example on the other hand, the best case scenario is what ended up happening (the hijacker/s don't have the goal of killing people, so there's a reasonable chance that everyone can survive), therefore is it worth taking the risk to stop them? In this situation, even one person dying while preventing them from taking control of the plane can actually be a worse outcome than leaving them to their negotiations. In terms of mathematical outcomes it's hard to say which course of action would be better: firstly because you couldn't give accurate probabilities, and secondly because the expected outcome might not match the best bet. For example, if preventing hijackers gives a 95% chance that at least one person dies, and leaving them to it gives a 1% chance that 50 people die, then played out over 1000s of times you're actually better not doing anything, but over a single time is it worth taking that risk? And then past that, even if these numbers were easy to analyse, how will people on board react when a.) emotions are running high and b.) rather than typing at my desk at work, I'm confronted with the situation that I'm the one risking my life to stop them. Even if I knew the odds meant they really needed to be stopped, I'm not sure I'd have the balls to run at men with weapons.

koala_advert 13y ago

Apparently the hijacker(s) wanted political asylum in Switzerland: http://www.jaunted.com/story/2014/2/17/02325/1000/travel/BREAKING%3A+Ethiopian+Plane+Hijacked%2C+Flown+to+Switzerland+for+Asylum http://www.jaunted.com/story/2014/2/17/02325/1000/travel/BRE...

einhverfr 13y ago
Probably not the best way to get political asylum.

wila 13y ago

Hijacker has been arrested according to this: http://jpupdates.com/2014/02/17/breaking-hijacked-ethiopian-airline-landed-in-geneva-airport/ http://jpupdates.com/2014/02/17/breaking-hijacked-ethiopian-...

NN88 13y ago

Its a hijacking: Live reddit thread with updates from /r/Aviation http://np.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1y46mi/possible_hijacking_in_progress_eth_702_squawking/ http://np.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1y46mi/possible_hij...

jessevdk 13y ago

I happened to be at the airport when it happened (still am). We got to hear that the airport closed due to "Operational problems". Plenty vague, but the internets prevails.

cyann 13y ago

Local newspaper with details [French]: http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/Un-pirate-de-l-air-detourne-un-avion-vers-laeroport-de-Geneve/story/27179086 http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/Un-pirate-de-l-air-d...

lelf 13y ago

Plot twist: it was co-pilot. Source: press conference Edit: video here http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurde-vom-Kopilot-entfuehrt-22505714 http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurd... Can someone translate? (French). Edit’: scratch that. (There was a press conference recording (yes, in French))

jbrooksuk 13y ago
Best use of "plot twist" I've seen. What a story!
jmathai 13y ago
I don't speak French but... http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurde-vom-Kopilot-entfuehrt-22505714 http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurd... Edit: confused if this article was requested to be translated to or from French. Mobile browsing sucks. Here is English. http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/romandie/story/Das-Flugzeug-wurde-vom-Kopilot-entfuehrt-22505714%3Fredirect%3Dmobi%26nocache%3D0.3424269447568804&usg=ALkJrhgVWxhJpUsfS_A1sODXTjkrzV02Fg http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&n...
Myrmornis 13y ago
Nit, just for the record, the article is in German, not French. But of course the error is perfectly understandable if the posters above are from non-European-language speaking countries.

jmathai 13y ago

@cnnbrk reported this an hour after it happened [1]. I turned CNN on the television and they were showing an Anthony Bourdain show. Google News showed only 5 results. Meanwhile, Twitter was streaming with links to flight maps and other updates. I realize news media might have to do more due diligence before reporting but from the face of it they seemed completely unaware. [1] https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/435294208824328192 https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/435294208824328192

eots 13y ago

How is his hacker news?