搭機又驚魂，加拿大太陽之翼航空（Sunwing Airlines）772班機25日上午7時飛往巴拿馬途中，因25歲乘客夏伊（Ali Shahi）威脅「炸毀」飛機，機長當機立斷決定返航，在美國兩架F16戰鬥機護航下，客機在多倫多機場安全降落，夏伊隨即被捕。
機上未發現危險物，但180餘名乘客改乘另一班機繼續原定行程。
從乘客拍下的視頻顯示，客機於上午9時左右抵達多倫多皮爾遜機場後不久，皮爾區警察局特警小組五、六人即持槍登機大喊：「雙手舉起，頭部埋低。」機動小組立即拘捕為加拿大公民的夏伊。加拿大皇家騎警表示，該機構國家安全執法小組將協助調查夏伊的口頭威脅和危及航空安全案件。
這架載有183名乘客（包括兩名嬰兒）、六名機組人員的客機，起飛45分鐘後，飛抵西維吉尼亞州上空時，焦躁不安的夏伊揚言要炸掉飛機。
太陽之翼航空總裁威廉斯說，飛機起飛後，夏伊坐立不安，把機上雜誌和安全說明書撕得粉碎，並試圖破壞窗戶遮陽板。在一名乘客告訴機員，夏伊想要「炸毀」飛機後，機長當即緊急應變折返。
北美航太防衛司令部（North American Aerospace Defence Command，簡稱NORAD）說，客機被迫折返後，駐防在 俄亥俄州的兩架戰鬥機即在側護航，以防患未然。
登機的維安人員曾對夏伊和飛機進行搜索，但未發現任何武器，或足以構成威脅的物品。威廉斯說，他對該客機機組人員的應變方式「非常滿意」。他說，航空公司會與警方合作調查此事。夏伊將面臨行為失當等控罪，預定26日上午舉行交保聽證。
A man charged for allegedly making “direct threats” aboard a Sunwing flight from Toronto to Panama City was released on bail Saturday morning.
Ali Shahi, a 25-year-old Canadian, was arrested after Flight 772 made an emergency landing at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Friday morning. It was escorted by two U.S. F-16 military jets.
Shahi was charged with mischief to property, mischief interfering of the lawful enjoyment of property, uttering threats and endangering the safety of an aircraft
He was released on $1,000 bail after appearing at a Brampton court.
Shahi was ordered not to board a plane or enter Pearson International Airport as part of the conditions for his release.
Outside the courthouse his father Sadegh Shahi said that his son will be sent to a hospital for a psychological assessment for at least 72 hours at the request of his family.
“That’s what I want,” Sadegh Shahi said. “He’s been suffering for 10 years now … I hope they are going to do something for him.”
‘Ali is not at fault’
Shahi’s family says he has a history of mental illnesses that weren’t properly addressed by police and the health system.
Ali Shahi, who currently lives in Mississauga, is alleged to have made a threat to Sunwing flight 772. (Ali Shahi/Facebook)
“I am sorry for what happened on the flight, but Ali is not at fault,” his father Shadegh Shahi said. “I blame the police and health system. We called the police for help more than 23 times in the last two to three years, but unfortunately they did nothing to help us or help my son.”
Shahi became agitated when he found out the price of cigarettes on the flight was about 25 cents cheaper than what he paid at the airport and wanted to be reimbursed for the difference, family members told CBC News.
Shahi has “deep depression” that started in his teens after he was bullied for being “chubby,” according to his father and his uncle Matt Misha.
He also has gambling issues that resulted in him losing $6,000 in student loan money.
Family members say they called police on numerous occasions when Shahi became angry and started yelling. They say Shahi was picked up by officers and dropped off at a coffee shop or other places nearby because he couldn’t be arrested.
Peel police cannot confirm if Shahi is known to them, public information officer Const. Thomas Ruttan said.
Fighter jets dispatched
Family members say they’ve tried to seek treatment for Shahi, but were told he can’t be admitted against his will.
Shahi also stayed briefly at Mississauga’s Credit Valley Hospital for mental health issues, family members said. What was supposed to be a month-long treatment lasted only a few weeks after the hospital discharged him for “not following rules,” Shahi’s father said.
Police come on the Sunwing flight to deal with an ‘unruly passenger’ who threatened the security of the plane. (Alain Alphonso)
Credit Valley Hospital did not immediately respond to CBC News’s interview request Saturday.
Shahi attended the University of Toronto briefly. He now goes to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and has changed majors several times, family members said.
Shahi was travelling with his girlfriend at the time.
Passengers file out of Sunwing Flight 772 after police made an arrested on board. (Alphonso Alain)
Flight 772 — with 181 passengers, two infants, two pilots and four flight attendants on board — turned around for the emergency landing after 45 minutes in the air.
The two U.S. F-16 fighter jets from Toledo, Ohio, were dispatched to escort the plane back to Toronto, North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) confirmed. The F-16s flew with the commercial plane out of U.S. airspace to Toronto as a “precaution.”
The RCMP took the lead on the investigation once the plane landed at Pearson airport at 8:55 a.m. ET.
When the plane landed, a passenger said five or six officers with guns drawn boarded the plane and removed Shahi.