There’s footage going viral of an air marshal pulling a gun on passengers while standing in front of the cockpit, so I wanted to take a look at what we know about this incident.
Security officer guards airplane cockpit with gun
While the incident allegedly took place several months back, footage is just now going viral of a Jordanian security officer pulling a gun on passengers in the galley in order to keep them away from the jet’s cockpit. In the video you can see the cockpit door open and close, and then passengers repeatedly try to come up to the cockpit to enter it, while the security officer keeps passengers away with his gun.
This video has caused all kinds of speculation, including that there may have been a hijacking, so let’s talk about what we really know.
What really happened with this incident?
This incident happened on Jordan Aviation, which is a private charter airline based in Amman. The airline operates worldwide charter services.
The above video was filmed several months back (but like I said, is only going viral now), and this happened on a charter flight from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria. This was allegedly an Umrah flight, which is a pilgrimage for religious passengers.
According to reports, the flight had to divert to a different airport in Nigeria, and the airline tried to offload passengers there. The travelers weren’t happy with the diversion point, and the carrier’s inability to get them to their final destination. Once the plane was on the ground, passengers wanted to speak to the captain.
However, Jordan’s laws prohibit passengers from entering the cockpit, and it’s standard for Jordanian airlines to have a security officer onboard. So when the passengers tried to enter the cockpit, the security officer tried to keep them away with a gun.
Looking at Jordan Aviation’s fleet plus the layout of the galley area on this plane, I assume that the plane in question was a ~34 year old Boeing 767-200ER with the registration code JY-JAL (which has quite a history).
The big question is why passengers tried to enter the cockpit. According to some reports, the flight was supposed to operate to Kano, Nigeria (KAN), but diverted to Yola, Nigeria (YOL), and passengers were told to disembark. For what it’s worth, the two airports are ~330 miles apart. There are conflicting stories as to why the diversion happened, though.
The only other comment from the airline is that there’s a threat to prosecute anyone who tries to harm the company’s reputation by fabricating rumors related to this incident.
Bottom line
A video is going viral of an air marshal pulling a gun on passengers. The incident happened on a Jordan Aviation Boeing 767 operating a charter flight from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria. After the plane landed, passengers wanted to speak with the captain, but Jordan’s laws don’t allow passengers to enter the cockpit.
What we don’t know is the backstory of what exactly happened that caused passengers to be so upset. It’s believed that the flight diverted and passengers were stranded, but who knows.
Regardless, in the age of reinforced cockpit doors, you’d think a cockpit wouldn’t have to be protected by someone pointing a gun at people, no?
What do you make of this incident?
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