Operation Sovereign: Drama in the Skies

[Emperor Tristar Majestica]

This is the story of how a routine domestic flight became a breaking news story; with a chain of events resulting in a military escort, an airspace shutdown, and a Hungadadian Special Forces team storming a plane. This is the first detailed report to have been released regarding this incident. 

 

OPERATION SOVEREIGN: Drama in the Skies

It was a routine domestic flight, one that was flown 3 times a day, between the cities of Gull and Port Royalty: Hungadada Airlines flight 932. At approximately 16:00, 50 minutes into the 2-hour flight, the National Air Traffic Control Service (NATCS), received a disturbing and distressing radio message from the cockpit of HA932: "Control, this is Hotel-Alpha niner-three-two. We have some sort of disturbance on board, two men are making threats against the safety of this plane, its passengers, and its crew. I...hold on.... *radio static, loud booms can be heard in the background, with screaming and shouting*... "Control, they're trying to break down the cockpit door, and they have threatened my crew to open the door... *radio static*...mayday, Mayday, Mayday, hotel-alpha niner-three-two, we have two terrorists on board, they are armed, and are now threatening to get inside the cockpit... they are in the cockpit... *long radio static and then silence*. The message would suspend all activity in the NATCS control room as all the controllers froze and looked at the handler with 932. Following official protocol, the handler responded: "Roger, 932, message received, continue flying your heading". Over the next 3 minutes, the controller would attempt to re-establish radio contact with 932. No radio contact was established. As other controllers attempted to make radio contact,  he would make contact with a secretive and little-known air force organization, the Airspace Security Team (AST), stationed at IHAF Base Greenfield. The AST is part of the air force and monitors all of the Hungadadian air spaces, to ensure that its sovereignty is not violated, and to ensure that the security of the airspace is not violated. 

At 16:04, the AST control room received the following typed message from NATCS:

"CODE BLACK ---//--- Security breach aboard HA932 (GRA to PRIA), heading 150. Not responding to radio contact.  ---///--- Be advised, estimated 2 hostiles in cockpit, armed. Situation volatile. 100 aboard. Aircraft is Embraer E-190, registration HAE932. Code: BLACK."

At 16:05, AST controllers had identified the aircraft in question, which had been veering slowly off course. The call went out to an even more unknown air force organization, the IHAF Rapid Response Team (IHAF-RRT): "RRT, Code Black, HA932, heading 150, current location over Fort Hungadada, at FL 150. Cleared to fly supersonic. Respond" The IHAF-RRT is responsible for intercepting any aircraft that is deemed dangerous or hostile toward Hungadada. The radio controller responded: "Roger, message understood, CODE BLACK".

The controller would set off an alarm, sending the ground crew, 4 pilots, and 4 co-pilots scrambling to 4 fighter jets armed and fueled, ready for use. One by one, these jets taxied out of their hangar, and onto the runway, each cleared to fly supersonic to intercept an aircraft that had been hijacked. At 16:12, the first of 4 aircraft reached HA932, just passing Fort Hungadada itself. Before conducting his operation, the pilot flew his jet near to HA932 to make sure of the registration. This completed, in a show of force, the jet set off flares, which, from what the pilot could see, drew the attention of the 4 people inside the cockpit. The pilots were clearly distressed, and two men, dressed in black, carrying weapons, were furious. Visual contact made, the pilot then delivered the following message:

"Hungadada Airlines flight niner-three-two, this is the Hungadadian Air Force Rapid Response Team. Under the authority of His Majesty Emperor Tristar Majestica, I order you to change your course to heading nine-zero and to land at the Lionsgate Airport. I must inform you that if you do not respond and change your heading, that under the authority of His Majesty Emperor Tristar Majestica, you may be shot down. I repeat, Hungadada Airlines, flight niner-three-two, this is the Hungadadian Air Force Rapid Response Team. Under the authority of His Majesty Emperor Tristar Majestica, I order you to change your course to heading nine-zero and to land at the Lionsgate Airport. You must respond to this message and change your course, or I will have no choice but to shoot you down." 

By now, the 3 other aircraft from the RRT had arrived as well and confirmed that the airline intercepted was indeed HA932. At 16:15, visual confirmation established, the OE released a statement to the media, which would dominate headlines. 

Out of the blue, at 16:17 HA932 responded, with a message: "Rapid Response Team, this is Hungadada Airlines niner-three-two." The co-pilot of one of the jets looked into the cockpit. One of the hijackers was talking through the radio. "We are the AHM. We will land, but only if you can guarantee us some things:  $2,000,000 in cash and immunity to travel out of Hungadada. Also, we want to broadcast a message out to the world through the news. Guarantee us that, and we will allow these pilots to land at Lionsgate." The jets, still with the plane, continued to fly alongside. A call was made to the emergency meeting room. At 16:20, the return call was made to HA932. "Hungadada 932, we will provide the money, broadcast, and immunity. But, you must land at Lionsgate now. And you will not interfere whatsoever with the duties of the pilots in order to land the plane." "Good, we understand". 

Meanwhile, on the ground, Lionsgate Airport was getting ready to receive the plane. NATCS had issued a CODE BLACK, which meant "hijacking, close airspace". As such there were very few planes in the sky, all of whom were preparing to land. At 16:45, all planes all over Hungadada were grounded. There was no plane in the air, apart from 4 IHAF fighter jets and one Embraer-190E. Lionsgate Airport was ready to receive the escorted Embraer, and at 17:10, the plane touched down at Lionsgate Airport, followed by 4 IHAF fighter jets. 

Unbeknownst to anyone aboard the plane, the Emperor had ordered the deployment of the Hungadada Special Forces Counter-Terrorism Division (HSF-CTD). The plane was led away from the terminal and toward a more secluded area of the airport. At 17:20, the aircraft was stopped, and a negotiator from the HSF-CTD took the radio from the Lionsgate tower and spoke to the hijackers: "Good evening, 932." There was no response. Then, "Where is the money, the media?!" came a furious voice back. For the first time in the entire situation, at 17:22, gunshots were heard. The hijackers had begun firing out of the cockpit at anything and everything that was on the tarmac, including the lone ground vehicle, and the tower. The situation was becoming volatile very quickly. The negotiator had begun to talk again: "Guys, listen, it takes time to get 2 million in cash. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. We're getting the money as fast as we can, but you need to wait." "Fine, but we wait no more than 30 minutes. After that we start using these weapons." was the reply he got.

At 17:40, a money truck pulled up alongside the door of the aircraft. The truck had driven past, in front of the plane and then pulled around to the door, out of view of the cockpit, and the hijackers The negotiator began again: "You've just seen a truck pull up. It has 2 million, but we need to get to the plane to allow you to come down and take the money, and also allow you to meet some media people, who are now coming in that van. We are bringing the airstairs". "Okay" was the only response he got back. 

The hijackers did not know it, but the money truck did not contain any money. In fact, it was filled with the special forces that had been deployed. The media van had a sniper, who had his scope and gun pointed right at the door The airstair, which for some reason took longer than anticipated, also had HSF soldiers hiding on the stairs. The hijackers could not see any of them. At 17:47, the airstair docked, and the door opened. Standing in front of the opened door, were the two hijackers, guns out pointed at the assembled vans. They could not have anticipated in any way what happened next. Simultaneously, the HSF sniper fired, and the HSF soldiers on the airstair jumped up and moved toward the open door. The shot of the sniper hit, and one of the hijackers was shot dead. The other, would run inside, back to the passenger cabin, and barricade himself in the toilet. 

HSF soldiers flooded the aircraft. As women and children were taken off the aircraft, the HSF soldiers inside the plane would break down the toilet door and apprehend the second hijacker. He sustained a gunshot wound to his leg but would live. All the passengers were screened and then allowed to contact relatives. The operation was deemed a success. There were no civilian casualties. 

TIMELINE:

15:10 - HA932 takes off from Gull Airport

16:00 - HA932 pilots report disturbance in aircraft 

16:01 - HA932 declares Mayday situation regarding hijacking

16:04 - NATCS informs AST about "CODE BLACK" situation

16:05 - AST identifies HA932 on radar and simultaneously notifies IHAF-RRT

16:06 - IHAF-RRT scrambles 4 fighter jets

16:12 - IHAF-RRT jet #1 intercepts HA932

16:13 - IHAF-RRT jet #1 attempts radio contact with HA932

16:15 - IHAF-RRT jets #2, #3, #4 all on scene. Visual confirmation established, OE releases the first statement to media

16:17 - IHAF-RRT jet #1 establishes radio contact with HA932

16:20 - IHAF-RRT jet #1 confirms list of demands with HA932

16:45 - All aircraft grounded, Hungadadian airspace closed (41 minutes after "CODE BLACK" declaration)

17:10 - HA932, escorted by IHAF-RRT lands at Lionsgate Airport

17:20 - HA932 is taxied away from terminal to secluded area

17:22 - Hijackers fire gunshots from cockpit window

17:40 - Money truck, with HSF-CTD inside drives in front of the plane and pulls up out of view of the cockpit. "Media van" follows money truck

17:47 - Airstairs dock

17:47:52 - sniper fires shot and kill hijacker #1

17:52 - HSF-CTD break down toilet door and apprehend hijacker #2

17:55 - all passengers are removed from the aircraft 

18:00 - passengers are screened

18:10 - all passengers are allowed to leave, OE final statement goes out. 

22:05 - Report is released

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Questions from foreign press or from foreign representatives are welcome. 

Edited July 25, 2017 by Emperor Tristar Majestica
Grammar and spelling