The hijack of the Afghan aircraft at Stansted airport took a dramatic and unexpected turn last night when four men, believed to be hostages, escaped from the Ariana airlines aircraft by jumping from a cockpit window.
The freedom bid came shortly before 11 p.m. on the third night of the hijack crisis, the second at Stansted, as Essex police were preparing for another round of complex negotiations with the hijackers on board the Boeing 727 aircraft.
Infra-red night vision equipment set up at the airport's perimeter fence, about 500 metres from the aircraft, picked up images of a figure climbing through the co-pilot's window in the cockpit of the aircraft at about 10.55 p.m. The figure clad in dark clothing then climbed down a rope or ladder, jumped on to the tarmac and ran toward the perimeter fence. Three other men followed and later all four were being being questioned in police custody in a nearby "containment area", believed to be an aircraft hanger.
At a press conference at Stansted airport, Assistant Chief Constable Joe Edwards of Essex police said he did not believe the men were hostage-takers but could not confirm if they were members of the crew.
"The men were immediately given a health check and they are not injured. They are in a safe environment where they will be debriefed by police officers," he said. "Negotiations are continuing and the situation remains calm, but this is a very sensitive stage and we are unravelling what impact this has had on the people on the plane."
He said the men had used an established emergency escape route, climbing down a short ladder or piece of rope.
It was also clear that police feared the escape had changed the "dynamic" of the crisis. "It is really delicate but the situation is calm at the moment in the plane. The negotiations are continuing and that is a good sign," Mr Edwards said.
Throughout the day Essex police were stressing the "calm and business-like" approach adopted by its team of negotiators. But in the absence of formal political demands from the hijackers and reports from Kabul that they might be seeking asylum in Britain there was speculation that the escape might agitate the hijackers, propelling the crisis toward a violent conclusion.
Earlier, a UN representative on refugee affairs arrived at Stansted, but police said she was not directly involved in the negotiations with the hijackers. The UN representative was an expert in Afghan affairs and would be acting as an observer during the hostage crisis at the airport, a police spokesman said.
Police negotiators were also able to secure the release of a male passenger who was feeling unwell, bringing to nine the number of passengers released by the hijackers. The man, believed to be in his 40s and an asthmatic, was released at about 2.30 p.m. after fresh supplies of water, food and a generator had been delivered to the aircraft to improve the conditions on board for more than 150 passengers and crew.