Former commercial pilot charged with hijacking and terrorism over Vancouver flight
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A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada provided a court file number that matches a case in B.C. Provincial Court involving a former commercial airline pilot based in Victoria.
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The man is Shaheer Cassim, who has previously been involved in climate activism.
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Norad says it scrambled F-15s in response to the alleged hijacking of a Cessna that belonged to the Victoria Flying Club, but the plane landed and the man was arrested before the fighter jets arrived.
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A spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defence Command says additional F-18 fighters were also being readied to respond, but the Cessna landed at YVR before those planes were deployed.
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RCMP have not disclosed a potential motive in the case, but a recorded conversation involving a Vancouver air traffic controller suggests the alleged hijacking may have been motivated by 'some type of protest.'
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