The Alliance Air Boeing aircraft used for the mock hijacking drill at Santacruz airport.

MUMBAI, June 8: As hijacks go, it had all the necessary ingredients: a boeing, an Alliance Air aircraft on a Mumbai-Bangalore flight, `a hijacker' and plenty of drama. Only one thing was missing: it wasn't for real.

On Sunday, Santacruz airport conducted one of its routine mock exercises which went a little awry when an overenthusiastic media mistook it for the real thing and landed at the airport in full strength.

Unsuspecting passengers who heard the `news' from the media persons gathered outside the airport manager's office for further information about the incident immediately panicked and started enquiries.

As per the procedures laid down for the mock hijacking drill, the cockpit crew of an Alliance Air Boeing aircraft on a Mumbai-Mangalore flight informed the air-traffic control that the plane was hijacked by a lone skyjacker. ``The ATC, as per the drill laid down, immediately alerted concerned agencies like Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Airport officials and police, who immediately rushed to the airport,'' S K Iyengar, Principal Secretary (Home), Maharashtra government, told the media after the exercise.

According to him, this was an annual drill conducted at different airports under possible seige situations to check the ``alacrity, promptitude and coordination'' of various agencies involved in dealing with such eventualities.

The mock exercise began at 1.04 pm and lasted for two-and-a-half hours. Seventeen passengers drawn from various agencies and seven crew members were aboard the aircraft. Among the demands made by the `hijackers' included a getaway car, an audience with the prime minister and a sum of US $1 millon.

The negotiating team which included personnel drawn from various agencies also comprised experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry, Iyengar added. The lone `hijacker' was apprehended as he tried to escape in the `getaway' car.

As only a few chosen officials from the higher echelons of the AAI and the airline were aware of the drill, some amount of confusion prevailed among the local staffers in the city who had to cancel their Sunday break and rush to work.

``I was informed of the excercise ten minutes after it started and I reached the airport in about 45 minutes from South Mumbai,'' Iyengar said.Incidentally, the media control unit which was supposed to provide information in case of real hijack was not functioning and the newspersons were as confused as the onlookers. Shortly after the exercise ended, word trickled out that it was not a real hijack afterall.

As is routine after mock exercises, the agencies involved in the operations will take stock and analyse their findings. AAI officials point out that these will be used to further beef up security at the airport.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.