One person has been arrested after a small passenger aircraft was allegedly “hijacked” from Victoria and landed at Vancouver International Airport Tuesday.
The aircraft, a Cessna 172 registered to the Victoria Flying Club, took off from YYJ just before 1 p.m. with what officials are now describing as an unapproved passenger aboard.
It circled the area around runway 26R at YVR for some time before landing safely shortly before 2 p.m. July 15th.
Witnesses at YVR reported seeing a heavy police presence, including a SWAT team and an Advanced Life Support ambulance heading toward the airport as the situation unfolded.
Air traffic controllers referred to the aircraft as “hijacked,” and temporarily halted flight operations while the incident was being handled.
Despite the gravity of the situation, it appears the pilot remained in contact with air traffic control throughout the flight.
The nature of the communication and relationship between the pilot and the unapproved passenger remains under investigation.
The Victoria Airport Authority issued a brief statement confirming that the incident involved a Victoria Flying Club aircraft and that the situation had been safely resolved.
“The aircraft has landed and the individual involved has been apprehended by the RCMP,” the statement read.
“Flight operations at YYJ have returned to normal.”
RCMP have not released further details about the individual taken into custody or the motive behind the alleged hijacking. No injuries have been reported.
Authorities say the investigation remains active, and further information will be released as it becomes available.
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