The Ministry of Civil Aviation may have made it mandatory for all commercial aircraft to seal their cockpits as a measure against hijackers, but for Indian Airlines this by itself is insufficient. The national carrier has decided to go in for a three-tier, anti-hijack system prescribed by the US Federal Aviation Authority (USFAA).In a recent order issued by IA, two more layers have been added to the onboard anti-hijack system. Apart from a sealed cockpit door, each aircraft will have a camera for the pilot to view what’s happening in the cabin and, a remote air traffic control device.‘‘The camera will be located somewhere near the cockpit door. Its controls will lie with the captain. In case of an hijack, the captain will be able to see what is happening inside the cabin. This could give him time to react than letting a hijacker take him by surprise,’’ says a senior aviation safety official. The third tier is the onboard remote air traffic control. It was this device that reportedly malfunctioned leading to the drama at Delhi airport last month. The button for this device is placed at a hidden location known only to the captain and senior crew members. The moment the button is pressed, it will automatically transmit hijack code 7500 to the nearest ground-based air traffic control to take necessary action.The biggest advantage of this gadget, sources say, is that it cannot be turned off once activated. So even if hijackers were to discover the button has been pressed, they can do little to deactivate it. ‘‘The frequency on which the remote ATC will operate is flight-specific. Each flight, just before take-off, will be allotted a frequency to operate this gadget. As a result, when it does transmit the hijack code, the ground-based ATC can immediately trace the flight,’’ says an official.While the airline is trying its best to seal cockpit doors of all its 39 aircraft by November, officials say, the other two devices will be fitted gradually by the manufacturer. However, they will come pre-fitted in the seven aircraft to be leased over the next few months. On being contacted, an IA spokesperson said: ‘‘I can’t reveal much detail for security reasons but can confirm that we have decided to adopt anti-hijacking standards set by the US FAA.’’
