Tianjin Airlines attempted hijack on 29 June 2012. Chinese television showed the hijackers going through the security checkpoint at Hotan Airport, being overpowered in-flight, arrested and one of the hijackers in hospital after the event.
still failed to identify Guzalinur Turdi, a 19-year-old girl, who brought gasoline aboard a China Southern flight from Urumqi to Beijing.5 Turdi extracted cola from two cans by using a syringe; the cans were then re-filled with gasoline and sealed. This method of disguising gasoline had also been used by a hijacker named Wang Zhiyong in 1994 and again by Dong Yue in 2003. To further her chances of getting the gasoline onboard undetected, Turdi had hurried to the security checkpoint just before the gate was closing and paid 100 RMB (approx. US $15) to get through the VIP lane in order to bypass the luggage inspection.
“…gasoline started oozing from the modified drinks cans due to the change in cabin pressurisation…”
Again, this was not the first time that a late arrival at a checkpoint had enabled a passenger with negative intent to board. In 1979, a hijacker named Wang Guoping had done the same thing. It could be fairly argued that it was not Turdi’s excellent concealment that enabled her to bring the threatening liquid on board, rather procedural carelessness on the ground. Turdi failed in her attempt to destroy the airliner due to the diligence and determination of both the flight attendants and the air marshals. After Turdi boarded the plane, she repeatedly asked the steward when they would be flying over Beijing, causing
some concern as to her
behaviour. Furthermore, the gasoline started oozing from the modified drinks cans due to the change in cabin pressurisation. To cover the smell of the gasoline fumes, she went to the toilets and sprayed a lot of perfume in order to cover it; this gave the game away. The steward noticed that Turdi’s behaviour as she exited the toilets was strange and the crew smelled the unusual odour of gasoline mixed with perfume. They informed the aircraft
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commander and air marshals without further delay. Soon afterwards, the air marshals discovered the two cans of gasoline, which were disguised as cans of cola, in the rubbish bin in the toilets and in luggage near her seat. Turdi was obviously lacking in psychological preparation for effecting the intended terrorist attack and was certainly not familiar with the air route. She was restrained and taken into custody. After this event, the CAAC further intensified the limitation of carrying liquids onto aircraft.7
Passengers are not allowed
to take more than 100ml of any liquid on board, nor can they carry any kindling materials (lighters, matches etc.).8 This provision not only addressed the issue of the use of improvised incendiary devices in-flight but also eliminated the unruly passenger incidents related to passengers disobeying no smoking bans. In China, passengers lighting up cigarettes in the toilets was a constant headache for those tasked with in-flight security.
Xinjiang Again: 29 June 2012 The 2008 attempted sabotage of an aircraft was a failure of what we refer to as the “Three Forces” - terrorism, separatism and extremism. Yet on 29 June 2012, an incident demonstrated that the Three Forces could not be consigned to history.
On that day, the crew of Tianjin Airlines flight GS7554 encountered six gangsters during the short flight from Hotan (Hetian) to Urumqi, being a domestic route within Xinjiang. Similar to what had happened in the USA a decade earlier, the attack was carried out by a team in the hope that they would have numerical superiority over the crewmembers. One of the terrorists had pretended to be a disabled person, passing through the checkpoint screening with two crutches; he later dismantled them and the seemingly innocuous tubes became transformed into threatening weapons.
Again, nothing new! In another case at Urumqi Airport last year, a passenger’s crutch was identified to be a weapon by X-ray screeners; it could be dismantled and a sharp knife was hidden within. The case did not result in any procedural change in the screening of appliances for the disabled. Fortunately, in this June’s incident, two ASOs, four stewards and a dozen passengers all joined together to overpower the terrorists. The passengers were from different ethnic groups and professions and included five police officers of local Public Security Bureau who were on a business trip to Urumqi. It was the four Uyghur policemen who understood the hijackers’ intention by understanding their language. After the
The Tianjin Airlines crew were rewarded for their bravery onboard flight GS7554 on 29 June 2012 Download your FREE ASI "iPad/iPhone APP" NOW August 2012 Aviationsecurityinternational
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