Hijacked: Tropic Air Plane In Belize

Intro

Wow, it isn't every day that you read about a plane being hijacked, and I cannot imagine how scary this must have been for passengers.

What Happened?

Yesterday, March 17th, Tropic Air (an airline that flies domestically around Belize) was operating a routine flight with 14 passengers from Corozal to San Pedro. However, somewhere mid-flight, the plane was hijacked by a US tourist holding a knife to the captain's throat.

Be aware, these smaller planes only feature one member on the flight deck, as I experienced with Maya Air.

The plane ended up circling for around two hours while they were trying to negotiate and figure out a way to sort out this situation (I presume).

A Tropic Air Plane Was Hijacked Mid-Flight

Supposedly, the man from the USA who hijacked the aircraft was demanding to be flown out of the country, and possibly to Mexico, although the details are not fully known at this time.

Supposedly, at this time, everyone is accounted for alive after the knifeman wounded the captain and stabbed two other passengers onboard. The issue was sorted out when one of the stabbed passengers, who is currently in critical condition, fired a licensed firearm inside the plane.

What We Do Know

What we do know is that the following events took place. This is from a reddit chain on flightradar and is very interesting:

i think he’s setting up to land at TZA right now

edit: he’s staying high over TZA, which means he’s likely proceeding to BZE.

some reports that he’s being winged-down by the mil jet, which means he might have an issue with the fixed gear or part of the structure

edit 2: he made another turn, now northbound and away from BZE/TZA

edit 3: TZA does not have weather reporting, BZE does. applying the current winds to both airports, we have a headwind at TZA and a crosswind at BZE

edit 4: looks like he’s now headed to SPR, still squawking 7700

edit 5 15:25Z: what is this guy doing? they shouldn’t have too much fuel to burn off (i think MGTOW = MGLW, so no need for a burn off), and he’s 2,000ft above anyone who can inspect his gear. what is this yokel doing?

15:30Z: he’s out to sea now. this is a regularly scheduled flight, and he’s way beyond the 13 minutes to SPR and 13 minutes back. i’m going to assume he isn’t full of fuel because the plane already flew one leg this morning prior to this one. is this a joyride?

let’s see if they make the turn towards TZA again

source: am commercial pilot

15:35Z: i think he’s going to turn back to TZA/BZE. maybe this is just a training flight where FR24 added the flight number in error.

15:37Z: with the completion of that second circuit, maybe they are trouble shooting an issue over the radio with MX. these laps look like they’ve done this before, and they are always within gliding distance of land

15:42Z: he didn’t start the third lap and is westbound towards BZE

15:43Z he’s still at nearly 3,000ft above the deck, approaching the airport perimeter. likely getting a tower inspection is my guess

15:45Z: u/pc_trainman with the update here, possible hijacking

15:49Z: descending into BZE by the looks of it

15:51Z: on short final at 700ft

15:52Z: hard left turn at 400ft about 1/2 mile before the runaway! this is getting sporty!

15:54Z: they are back out to sea. this is pretty wild. i’ve gotta fly here at the top of the hour but will try to update as i can

15:58Z: back out to sea. i wonder if they are trying to negotiate. also, i wonder how far an american or mexican bird is from this situation. with a jet leaving South Florida they could be over the area in about an hour IF the Belize government reaches out for help. this is wild.

16:54Z: looks like the plane is on the ground and the photos coming out of it are wild. this was nuts. seriously.

I Have So Many Questions

The one aspect I learnt about flying these small planes around Belize is that there is a lack of security on the ground there. You go straight from the boarding gate to the plane. So that rules out my question about the knife, but here are my other questions:

1. What is the motive behind this? Like, honestly, you are flying in a Cessna Caravan, which isn't fully loaded with fuel. Where did you expect to go?

2. How on earth did the pilot manage to keep the Caravan airborne for 2 hours? I will be curious to know when that gets released.

3. Where did the gun come from, and was it licensed? I mean, I am happy that there are no current fatalities, but geez.

4. Where was the passenger sitting?

Look at the end of the day, it seems that this situation was resolved to the best of the ability, and I commend the flight deck and passengers since I can only imagine how scary this must have been. Hats off for keeping your cool.

Final Thoughts

A Tropic Air flight operating to San Pedro was hijacked mid-flight by an American man looking to head to Mexico. While full details haven't been revealed yet, it seems that the pilot circled for 2 hours before the knifeman was shot by another passenger with a licensed firearm. Minus the marksman, it seems that everyone is in somewhat stable condition, some with minor injuries. So many questions, but I am glad everyone is safe...