The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested a man they say took over a plane flying out of Victoria International Airport by threatening a flight instructor.
They said Shaheer Cassim, 39, threatened an instructor on board a single-engine Cessna 172 plane on Tuesday and subsequently took over the plane while it was still at the Victoria, Canada, airport on Vancouver Island, leaving in the aircraft by himself.
Police did not specify the nature of the alleged threat against the flight instructor. No one was injured in the incident.
The plane ultimately landed at Vancouver International Airport on the Canadian mainland, where police arrested Mr. Cassim without further incident. Authorities charged Mr. Cassim with hijacking, and he is due back in court next Tuesday.
“Investigators have determined the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace,” RCMP Sgt. Tammy Lobb said. The police did not say what ideology motivated Mr. Cassim’s