A stolen light aircraft caused a shutdown at one of Canada’s busiest airports when it encroached onto the runway and performed wild maneuvers on Tuesday. The Cessna 172, which is used for flight training, took off from Victoria International Airport, near Victoria, British Columbia, and flew 40 miles north to Vancouver International Airport and started circling the runway. “We do have an aircraft that has been hijacked and is in the vicinity of the airport,” a tower controller was heard saying over the ATC comms system, according to a recording from the website LiveATC.net. “Just in case anything starts heading toward you have the ability to move at your discretion.” The “rogue 172” caused a WestJet Airlines Boeing 737 to abort its landing. “He was doing quite a radical turn at low altitude,” witness Paul Heeney, told CBC. “I went wow, I wonder if he is in trouble.” The plane eventually safely landed, and police immediately surrounded it. The suspect, who was arrested, was the only one on board. Nine planes were diverted to other airports and aircraft was blocked from arriving at Victoria International for almost 40 minutes.
