A person has been charged with hijacking, sooner or later after an incident that noticed flights grounded at Vancouver’s airport for just a little beneath an hour.
Shaheer Cassim, who was born in 1986, has been charged with one rely of hijacking, based on courtroom information on-line. RCMP mentioned that his subsequent courtroom look shall be on July 22.
On Tuesday afternoon, police arrested a person after a small Cessna 172 aircraft landed on the airport round 1:45 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
They mentioned that that they had acquired experiences round 1 p.m. that the aircraft had been hijacked from Vancouver Island earlier than getting into Vancouver Worldwide Airport (YVR) airspace.
RCMP say the person they arrested was the only real occupant of the aircraft. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)
Nobody was injured. RCMP say the person they arrested was the only real occupant of the aircraft.
A YVR spokesperson advised CBC Information on Tuesday that flights had been grounded for just below 40 minutes because of the alleged hijacking, and 9 flights needed to be diverted to different airports.
Few particulars had been launched by police on Tuesday. Richmond RCMP advised CBC Information on Wednesday that its federal counterparts had taken over the investigation.
Police haven’t shared what led as much as the alleged hijacking of the aircraft, which was taken from the Victoria Flying Membership. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)
Underneath the Prison Codea cost of hijacking might be laid for a wide range of causes — which embody confining individuals on board an plane towards their will, transporting them to an unscheduled location towards their will, or inflicting an plane to deviate from its flight plan by utilizing pressure or threats.
A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada mentioned that the hijacking additionally constitutes a terrorist offence and a terrorist exercise beneath two sections of the Prison Code.
In an announcement on Wednesday night, police mentioned that Cassim allegedly threatened a flight teacher and hijacked the aircraft at Victoria Worldwide Airport.
“Investigators have decided the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace,” mentioned Sgt. Tammy Lobb, although she didn’t specify what the motive was.
RCMP mentioned that Cassim acted with ‘an ideological motive to disrupt airspace.’ (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
One in 1,000,000 case, flying membership says
In keeping with the Victoria Worldwide Airport, the plane is operated by the Victoria Flying Membership.
Membership president Colin Williamson mentioned that the membership operated 12,000 flights per yr, and this was the primary case of its variety he had encountered, dubbing it “actually a one in 1,000,000 state of affairs.”
“We have had, you understand, individuals bang a wing tip into one other aircraft, you understand, fender benders, if you’ll, hit marker lights … I imply, all of that stuff occurs if you run a flight faculty since you are educating individuals to fly,” he mentioned.
“However this? No, by no means. It is simply fully out of the blue.”
Colin Williamson, president of the Victoria Flying Membership, advised reporters on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, that he was very restricted in what info he might share. (Mike McArthur/CBC)
Williamson mentioned that he was restricted in what info he might share with the media on Wednesday, and that RCMP had been at present inspecting the aircraft earlier than it could possibly be given again to the flight membership.
The flight membership president advised CBC Information that an teacher was required to take a look at the keys to the aircraft, and the person who allegedly hijacked the aircraft confirmed up, saying he wished to be a passenger on a aircraft.
Nevertheless, Williamson didn’t go into element about what occurred after the teacher checked out the keys or whether or not the teacher was threatened, although he did verify the person was not a member of the flight membership.
The Victoria Flying Membership operates greater than 12,000 flights per yr, based on its president, and it has been in operation since 1946. (Mike McArthur/CBC)
The Victoria Flying Membership operates many sorts of passenger companies, which embody sightseeing excursions, constitution flights and discovery flights the place a scholar pilot goes together with an teacher.
Williamson mentioned the membership was taking care of its workers and providing counselling, although he didn’t specify precisely what sort of flight was concerned in Tuesday’s alleged hijacking incident.
“It wasn’t in any approach something particular and … certainly one of our regular coaching planes that we fly on a regular basis,” he mentioned.
“Our individuals, I am actually pleased with them,” he added. “Everyone actually pulled collectively … as a result of it is distressing, you understand, as a result of we’re like household to one another.”
NORAD scrambles fighter jets
A spokesperson for the Canadian Armed Forces advised CBC Information in an announcement that the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) scrambled U.S. F-15 fighter jets in response to the alleged hijacking on Tuesday.
NORAD mentioned that they had been deployed after experiences that the civilian pilot of a “small normal aviation plane” was not speaking with air site visitors controllers.
Nevertheless, the flight had landed earlier than fighter jets intercepted it.
The spokesperson didn’t say the place the fighter jets departed from.
“NORAD F-15s responded to this incident as they had been closest and capable of be on scene the quickest,” it wrote. “CF-18s had been within the technique of responding, however the incident resolved earlier than any NORAD belongings arrived on station.”
‘Some sort of protest’
In air site visitors communications across the time of the alleged hijacking, unidentified air site visitors controllers are heard saying simply after 1:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday that the pilot of the Cessna “has indicated inside 10 minutes he plans to land and expects to be arrested.”
“There’s a Cessna over the airport, round 500 ft, some sort of protest,” an unidentified air site visitors controller is heard saying on one other recording.
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A person has been charged with hijacking sooner or later after an incident that noticed flights grounded at a Vancouver airport on Tuesday. Shaheer Cassim, who was born in 1986, has been charged with one rely of hijacking, based on courtroom information on-line.
In one other air site visitors management recording, controllers had been requested when the final time one thing like this occurred.
The reply was, “Perhaps the ’70s.”
