Pakistan International Airlines flight PK709 flying from Lahore with 297 passengers diverted to Stansted after 'disturbance' aboard.
RAF jets launched to investigate unexpected diversion of Pakistan passenger plane from Manchester to Stansted.
An RAF Typhoon jet has been launched to investigate an incident involving a civilian aircraft in UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence says.
Reports said the aircraft was a Pakistani passenger plane which had been diverted from Manchester to Stansted.
What sort of disturbance would lead to that? :hmm:
Hopefully nothing more than just a precaution.
It's just landed at Stansted. Here's hoping it was just a scuffle over the drinks trolley.
Obviously if it were a flight from Paris no-one would bat an eyelid :P
Panic over, it was just a shouty passenger :)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/24/raf-jet-diverted-pakistani-plane (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/24/raf-jet-diverted-pakistani-plane)
QuoteAn RAF Typhoon jet has been launched to investigate an incident involving a civilian aircraft in UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The plane, which is still in the air, is a Pakistan International Airlines plane with 297 passengers on board, which was flying from Lahore to Manchester, a Manchester Airport spokeswoman said.
The plane – flight number PK709 – had been due to touch down in Manchester at about 2pm on Friday but had been diverted to Stansted airport in Essex, she said.
A spokeswoman for Essex police said: "An incident has occurred on the aircraft and police and partners are responding."
It is understood the incident is not being treated as a terrorist incident and that Essex police are not liaising with counter-terrorism officers.
The Guardian understands that the pilot, concerned about a disruptive passenger who had started shouting, asked to divert to Stansted as a precaution.
It is understood the pilot was then satisfied the incident had been resolved. However the passenger is likely to be escorted off the plane at Stansted.
Do PIA planes even have a drinks trolley?
Quote from: Brazen on May 24, 2013, 08:33:25 AM
Panic over, it was just a shouty passenger :)
Ah good. I was going to guess mentally ill person screaming or something like that but the RAF jets scrambling made it weird.
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on May 24, 2013, 08:33:35 AM
Do PIA planes even have a drinks trolley?
I dunno, but American Airlines charging for alcoholic drinks with meals on transatlantic flights are worse than Hitler.
Haven't we all wanted to kick off when only the vegetarian meals are left?
I expect that's what it was, no chicken curry left and not a chance of a G and T, on a long flight too.
Apparently Stansted airport is the UK's designated counter terrorism airport. Presumably because if anything kicked off in Essex no-one would notice?
Quote from: Brazen on May 24, 2013, 08:43:43 AM
Apparently Stansted airport is the UK's designated counter terrorism airport. Presumably because if anything kicked off in Essex no-one would notice?
I don't know. The Stanstead "Express" is enough to radicalise even the most docile pacifist.
Stansted has a lot of spare capacity and is mainly used for charter flights, probably a sensible choice that is also unlikely to interfere with the travelling of the ruling class.
This is interesting :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Stansted_Airport
Passenger numbers are way below their peak at Stansted.
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on May 24, 2013, 08:49:06 AM
Stansted has a lot of spare capacity and is mainly used for charter flights, probably a sensible choice that is also unlikely to interfere with the travelling of the ruling class.
This is interesting :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Stansted_Airport
Passenger numbers are way below their peak at Stansted.
Upper Class use Heathrow
Middle Class use Gatwick
Lower Class use Luton
Fuzzy Wuzzies use Stanstead?
The Nouveau Riche use City.
I used Stansted once, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, I had no idea that Essex could be so remote :D
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on May 24, 2013, 08:58:55 AM
I used Stansted once, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, I had no idea that Essex could be so remote :D
I've sued it a few times, it's actually rather handy for me :hmm:
"Two men arrested on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft".
That's usually some drunk trying to open the emergency doors.
Yeah, or maybe some asshat shouting "Allahu Ackbar!", that is probably enough nowadays :mad:
Should have sent 'em to Glasgae to get that baggage handler to sort them out.
Or they said "bomb"
QuoteA Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Zufiqar Bijarani told CNN: "We have been told there may have been a bomb threat." But he did not say if he had anything to confirm or deny this.
Yes, given current security restrictions, I think saying it is all they're likely to have done.
Quote from: Brazen on May 24, 2013, 08:55:49 AM
The Nouveau Riche use City.
apparently the approach to city airport is indistinguishable from a landing on an aircraft carrier
Quote from: Brazen on May 24, 2013, 08:37:13 AM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on May 24, 2013, 08:33:35 AM
Do PIA planes even have a drinks trolley?
I dunno, but American Airlines charging for alcoholic drinks with meals on transatlantic flights are worse than Hitler.
Well American Airlines is in the midst of its re-design so who knows? Though prior to that I'm not sure a sensible person would ever fly American transatlantic.
Quote from: garbon on May 24, 2013, 10:00:29 AM
Quote from: Brazen on May 24, 2013, 08:37:13 AM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on May 24, 2013, 08:33:35 AM
Do PIA planes even have a drinks trolley?
I dunno, but American Airlines charging for alcoholic drinks with meals on transatlantic flights are worse than Hitler.
Well American Airlines is in the midst of its re-design so who knows? Though prior to that I'm not sure a sensible person would ever fly American transatlantic.
They had pretty good prices IIRC...or at least they did back in the 90s.
Quote from: Valmy on May 24, 2013, 10:57:39 AM
Quote from: garbon on May 24, 2013, 10:00:29 AM
Quote from: Brazen on May 24, 2013, 08:37:13 AM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on May 24, 2013, 08:33:35 AM
Do PIA planes even have a drinks trolley?
I dunno, but American Airlines charging for alcoholic drinks with meals on transatlantic flights are worse than Hitler.
Well American Airlines is in the midst of its re-design so who knows? Though prior to that I'm not sure a sensible person would ever fly American transatlantic.
They had pretty good prices IIRC...or at least they did back in the 90s.
They also until recently had the worst business class option.
Quote from: Valmy on May 24, 2013, 10:57:39 AM
They had pretty good prices IIRC...or at least they did back in the 90s.
The recently have had some good prices--their quality really sucks though. Maybe it is a supply and demand thing?
Can a Typhoon even catch a modern airliner?
Quote from: Berkut on May 24, 2013, 12:23:12 PM
Can a Typhoon even catch a modern airliner?
:XD:
Quote from: Berkut on May 24, 2013, 12:23:12 PM
Can a Typhoon even catch a modern airliner?
No, they couldn't even catch a cold.
Of course the Typhoon could catch an airliner; it's an air-superiority fighter, and not a particularly bad one at that.
Quote from: Warspite on May 24, 2013, 12:47:29 PM
Of course the Typhoon could catch an airliner; it's an air-superiority fighter, and not a particularly bad one at that.
Forgetting that the Eurofighter is called The Typhoon in the UK I compared the max speed of the WWII Hawker Typhoon (412 mph) to the cruising speed of a 737 (463 mph) and concluded, quite reasonably if you ask me, no.
I don't know if this makes me pathetic for not thinking of the UK Eurofighter as "Typhoon" or if it makes me Nerd King for having sufficient use for "Typhoon" for the WWII Hawker fighter that I keep calling the modern Typhoon "Eurofighter"
I think it is my fault for missing the joke: I've spent the morning combing through NAO figures on Eurofighter Typhoon procurement. :blush: