This was the period when the command of the country was in the hands of Indira Gandhi. The Prime Minister and her staff flew from Mumbai to attend the Non-Aligned Summit. It was an ordinary commercial plane bound for Lusaka. Only 15 minutes after the flight took off, there was news that a bomb was planted on the plane. Hearing this, the officials were shocked but Indira Gandhi remained calm.
“Inform the Prime Minister that I will disobey his orders”
He said this was just a rumor. Someone must have made a joke. Continue the journey. But Chief Secretary PN Haksa told Natwar Singh, “Inform the Prime Minister that the Chief Secretary has violated his orders and the plane will be diverted back.” He was not in favor of continuing the journey and was even ready to resign over it. There were reports that some of the Patels on the plane had bombs hidden on them, but there were five Patels on the plane at the time. Therefore, it is impossible to detect it while flying.
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‘Eagle’s call’ turns out to be bomb threat
The flight returned to Mumbai. Security agencies searched the plane and, as Indira Gandhi suspected, the threat was just a rumour. Nothing suspicious was found on the plane. Some of these threats continue to plague people today. Not only do these threats cause inconvenience, but they also add to a strange sense of fear that, at any time, anything can happen.
What is an eagle call?
Security agencies have been plagued by phone calls and emails such as “Hello, there’s a bomb planted on the plane” over the past few months. There is now a new term popular among the general public regarding such threats – hawk calls. Sometimes I get a call or email on a plane, sometimes at school, sometimes in a hotel. Someone sitting on the other side made a bomb threat. There was a commotion. Security agencies were alerted. Investigation completed. The threat turned out to be false and became known as the “Hawk Call.”
350 flights threatened in 14 days
Threats that have been present for months are now emerging on a daily basis. Even on Sunday, there were attempts to scare 50 planes in the name of bombs. The mail sent to the Lucknow hotel stated that “the bomb was stored in a black bag on the first floor”. In the past 14 days alone, 350 flights have been subject to such threats. In many of these threats, the people making the threats use social media.
What do you do when you get a call from the Eagles?
Aircraft must follow certain protocols when receiving a bomb threat, even a call from the Hawks. If a bomb threat is received during a flight, an alert is immediately issued and a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) meeting is convened. The members of BTAC include representatives from Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Civil Aviation Authority (BCAS), relevant airlines and airport operators.
The committee classifies threats as “specific,” “non-specific” and “on board during flight.” If the board deems the threat to be “specific,” pilots will be required to communicate with air traffic control (ATC) before taking next steps.
If a bomb threat is received “in flight,” the pilot will decide what to do. The choice of returning to the point of departure, heading to the destination, or diverting the aircraft to the nearest landing site depends on whether the threat is specific or non-specific. If a bomb threat occurs on a flight that has not yet taken off, the aircraft will be taken to a secluded area for security inspection in consultation with BTAC.
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What do pilots do after they go abroad?
If a bomb threat is received on an international flight outside Indian airspace, pilots are asked to contact air traffic control. Based on the flight’s real-time position, the pilot is instructed to return to the nearest departure airport or reach the destination or divert the flight to the nearest airport.
After landing, the plane that received the bomb threat was taken to a secluded area of ​​the airport. Passengers and crew were asked to disembark as soon as possible. Baggage, cargo and meals are unloaded and passengers and their luggage are then re-checked.
Airline, engineering and security personnel used sniffer dogs and scanning machines to conduct a thorough search of the empty aircraft. If nothing suspicious is found, the aircraft will be cleared for operation.
If any suspicious objects are discovered, security personnel and bomb squads will make necessary intervention. Other emergency response teams, including firefighters and paramedics, are also on standby during this time so that measures can be taken to respond to any untoward incident.
