Singapore Scrambles Fighter Jets To Intercept Intrusion

[Naim 6]

A couple of F16s to confront a Cessna coming from the north? Man, those guys are jittery or what?

 

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January 23, 2008 18:31 PM

 

Singapore Scrambles Fighter Jets To Intercept Intrusion

 

SINGAPORE, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- Singapore scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to intercept an unidentified civilian aircraft flying into its airspace yesterday, the Singapore Defence Ministry said today.

 

Its spokesman, Kol Darius Lim said in a statement that a Cessna 208 aircraft was detected heading towards Singapore airspace without an approval flight plan.

 

He said the two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) fighter jets which were scrambled at 6.42pm escorted the aircraft to land at Singapore's Changi Airport.

 

The Singapore Police Force was investigating the incident, he said, adding that the RSAF would continue to maintain a high state of readiness for any eventuality.

 

-- BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=309721

 

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Singapore Air Force interrupt foreign civilian plane

http://www.chinaview.cn

2008-01-23 18:41:29

 

SINGAPORE, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two F16 fighter jets from Singapore's Air Force on Tuesday night interrupted a foreign civilian plane which entered the city state's airspace without an approved flight plan, a Singapore Defense Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

 

The single-engine turboprop Cessna 208, which was from the Thai island of Koh Samui, was forced to land at Singapore's Changi Airport, and the incident caused the closure of the city state's airspace for 50 minutes, disrupting a number of flights in and out of the Changi Airport.

 

The spokesman said that the Singapore police have begun to investigate the incident, and the air force have since then been placed on high alert.

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/...ent_7481600.htm

[Izanee 0]

probably Firefly attempting to start USM-SZB-XSP flights before AK!!!

[Rozhan 0]

OT, but I believe Singapore ATC controls / tracks the airspace over the peninsular over 10,000 feet, right? was informed by a former DCA ATC staff who just got too stressed up and changed jobs!

[Hakan 2]

just I'm curious;

 

as far as I know, all single engine aircrafts (even turboprobs) always prefer to fly coast line or makes flightplan include flyover airports for emergency situation (unless it has an obligation). So, Koh Samui to Singapore routes cross over Malaysian ACC or Malaysian peninsular. How could it be fly through Malaysia airspace?

[Kee Hooi Yen 0]

....Koh Samui to Singapore routes cross over Malaysian ACC or Malaysian peninsular. How could it be fly through Malaysia airspace?

 

Good question.

 

Maybe our RMAF is intelligence enough to make 'judgement' wheather the plane will post any danger to the national security

[miroslav zinoviy 0]

hmm..is it a malaysian a/c? as far as i know..only Gading sari and Malaysian Police is operating the Cessna 208 in malaysia.

[BC Tam 2]

..... only Gading sari and Malaysian Police is operating the Cessna 208 in malaysia

Oh heck, is that why the need to scramble the falcons ?!!

 

If it was our PDRM's bird, I sure hope it wasn't flying some top cop to perform an aerial survey of his Singapore properties

[S V Choong 4]

Read the same news downloaded on into my Nintendo Wii yesterday, that the one of the international flight that was supposed to have landed in Changi airport during the 50 mins when the airport was closed, were diverted to a "near by small airport in neighbouring Malaysia". Any sighting of such international flight in JHB or KUL?

[Radzi 2]

OT, but I believe Singapore ATC controls / tracks the airspace over the peninsular over 10,000 feet, right? was informed by a former DCA ATC staff who just got too stressed up and changed jobs!

 

Not over the peninsular but over the South China Sea, and I think it is much higher than 10 000 ft.

 

An aircraft from Samui will probably goes by KBR (KUL FIR) and them VPK where they goes into SIN radar. But then again a C208 is unpressurized and will have to fly under 10 000 ft; not sure of the controlling authorities down there.

[LeeCH 0]

Singapore ATC (WSJC) control area is very very big. It covers the entire South China Sea up to Manila, Vietnam and eastern Peninsula borders (refer Jeppessen airways chart Far East 1/2). The lower airpace in Johor area up to FL220 (Kwek, correct me if I am wrong) with the exception of WMKJ which has a control area of up to 6,000 feet. I know because I have visited the ATC unit in Changi whilst awaiting my trip to Jandakot, Perth during my cadet days.

 

On a different note, a private (maybe a charter) had a wheel well fire yesterday morning (0600LT) whilst I was intercepting ILS approach 02C. The guys were busy handling out the abnormalities and last heard over the air was it could be false indication. Then I switch to tower and hear no further thereafter.

[Naim 6]

Not over the peninsular but over the South China Sea, and I think it is much higher than 10 000 ft.

 

An aircraft from Samui will probably goes by KBR (KUL FIR) and them VPK where they goes into SIN radar. But then again a C208 is unpressurized and will have to fly under 10 000 ft; not sure of the controlling authorities down there.

 

Another news report says:

 

"The single-engine turboprop Cessna 208 "was heading towards Singapore airspace," said the ministry's statement. The plane was escorted to Changi Airport."

 

If so, then the intercept could have happened over Malaysian airspace. That'd be interesting.

[Rozhan 0]

Thanks Capt. Radzi, LeeCH. What a wide area to track indeed......almost like controlling the entire upper part of South East Asia.

[Nik H. 3]

Thanks Capt. Radzi, LeeCH. What a wide area to track indeed......almost like controlling the entire upper part of South East Asia.

 

True. To fly from Malaysia to Malaysia ( East to West VV) a Malaysia aircraft goes under Singapore Control as soon as its between Pekan to near Sabah or Sarawak. Singapore controls the entire bit of lower South China Sea and can see all the bits in the region that they don't control.

 

An aircraft flying over the South China Sea between East and West Malaysia from Manila to Jogjakarta need not talk to Malaysia but has to talk to Singapore.

 

How come....? Long story.

[Rozhan 0]

Interesting Capt. Nik. I recall a journalist asking the then PM DrM on when will Malaysia start to control its own airspace. He replied that Malaysia will continue to allow Singapore to do it as Singapore actually pays $$ to Malaysia for doing it. I was 'blur' about that statement but left it as it was. Perhaps a legacy of colonial rule when everything was controlled from SG?

 

Any abridged version that you can share Capt Nik?

 

 

[Nik H. 3]

Interesting Capt. Nik. I recall a journalist asking the then PM DrM on when will Malaysia start to control its own airspace. He replied that Malaysia will continue to allow Singapore to do it as Singapore actually pays $$ to Malaysia for doing it. I was 'blur' about that statement but left it as it was. Perhaps a legacy of colonial rule when everything was controlled from SG?

 

Any abridged version that you can share Capt Nik?

 

Politically correct answer not worth the time.

 

True story will piss off some people.

 

This is after all an enthusiasts' site, not a site out to prove a point nor make a statement. About the statement, I too am BLUR....

Edited January 24, 2008 by Nik H.

[Rozhan 0]

OK then. The mystery remains I guess

[Naim 6]

A couple of immediate questions.

 

1) Where was the intercept done? In Malaysian airspace?

2) Did the Cessna have a flight plan when it overflew peninsular Malaysia?

 

Australian plane causes Singapore airport shutdown

 

January 24, 2008 - 12:14PM

 

An Australian-registered light aircraft caused a 50-minute shutdown of Singapore's airspace to commercial aircraft while 16 flights circled, aviation officials said today.

 

Two Australians were aboard the Cessna 208 Caravan floatplane, which approached on Tuesday night without an approved flight plan, prompting two Air Force F16 fighter jets to scramble during Changi Airport's busiest period.

 

The single engine aircraft, which can land on water, began its flight from Thailand's Koh Samui island.

 

The Singapore Air Force tracked the Cessna as it flew toward the city-state. The two missile-armed fighters intercepted it and signalled the Australians to land at the central runway at 8pm, The Straits Times account of the incident said.

 

The two Australians were escorted away by police, who are investigating the incident.

 

The aircraft was bought this month by Mary Cummins, who co-owns a tourist adventure flight company with Rhys Thomas, a former pilot with former Australian airline Ansett, the newspaper said. The plane had previously been flown by an airline in Koh Samui.

 

Aviation experts said the air force has been operating an enhanced defence against airborne terrorists 24 hours a day since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

 

Altogether, the shutdown of commercial airspace affected 23 aircraft, disrupting flights in and out of Changi.

 

Thousands of dollars in fuel was lost as the airliners circled Singapore while awaiting permission to land.

 

DPA

 

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/01/24/1201025052034.html

[Fitri Shukri 0]

Either our RMAF was sleeping on the job, or they're very very smart...

 

ps. would love to see a F16 scramble to intercept our MiG29...

[Radzi 2]

Either our RMAF was sleeping on the job, or they're very very smart...

 

.....or somebody else get very paranoid, although I don't think they should as they has not done anything bad. Unlike the big brother, who creates enemy all over the world.

 

Opps, sorry, getting too political.

 

 

[Rozhan 0]

I think had local ATC suspected something fishy was going on, they would have responded just as swiftly. Our military intelligence unit is not something to be looked down. If there is a need, they can... and will deliver

[Naim 6]

How do the fast F16s keep up with the single-prop Cessna? I guess by circling around?

 

 

 

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Bangkok Post

25/1/08

 

Plane that panicked S'pore piloted by Aussie

 

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK and dpa

 

The plane from Koh Samui which intruded into Singapore airspace on Tuesday causing a 50-minute shutdown of Changi airport was piloted by an Australian, Civil Aviation Department director general Chaisak Angsuwan said yesterday.

 

Mr Chaisak said the amphibious plane, a Cessna 208 Caravan 1, was piloted by Australian Rhys Henry Thomas, 48, a former pilot with Australian airline Ansett.

 

The plane was bought this month by Mary Cummins, who co-owns a tourist adventure flight firm with Mr Thomas. On Tuesday, Mr Thomas filed a flight plan with the air traffic control (ATC) at Koh Samui, saying he would test the plane by flying it around the island.

 

He took off about 2pm.

 

At 2.30pm, Mr Thomas radioed that the engine had developed problems.

 

Six minutes later air traffic control lost contact with the plane, which disappeared from radar. The plane was spotted again at a height of 32,000 feet over the Thai-Malaysian border.

 

[32,000ft? There must be a mistake here.]

 

Although air controllers told the pilot the plane was leaving Thai airspace, he continued on his flight path, heading to Singapore without heeding their the ATC's warnings against intruding into Singapore airspace.

 

Air traffic controllers at Koh Samui reported to ATC in Malaysia about the airspace intrusion and the deputy director-general of the department Wuttichai Singhamas, who was on an official trip to Singapore, cooperated with Singapore officials in the plane's interception.

 

[No intercept by RMAF?]

 

Mr Chaisak said he had sent a letter to the Australian and Singaporean embassies and the Foreign Ministry explaining the pilot violated Thailand's aviation laws.

 

According to the Straits Times newspaper, two Australians were aboard the plane, which approached Singapore on Tuesday night without an approved flight plan, prompting two Singapore Air Force F16 fighter jets to scramble during Changi airport's busiest period.

 

The Singapore Air Force tracked the plane as it flew toward the city state. The two missile-armed fighters intercepted the Caravan and signalled the Australians to land on the central runway at 8pm.

 

The Australians were escorted away by police, who are now investigating the incident. The shutdown of commercial airspace affected 23 aircraft, disrupting flights in and out of Changi.

 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/25Jan2008_news99.php

[Nik H. 3]

I think had local ATC suspected something fishy was going on, they would have responded just as swiftly. Our military intelligence unit is not something to be looked down. If there is a need, they can... and will deliver

 

Very True. Since the Caravan is flying over the East Coast, the only threat will be if the plane flies into some wooden fishing huts or into the Tioman resort.

 

Our military does not get unduly excited over things like this. Do recall, even with the best technology, highly trained and motivated crew, being trigger happy has caused the death of civilians.

 

The Israelis shooting a Civilian B707 near Port Said was one.

 

Then the Mighty US downing an Iranian A300 over the Straits of Hormuz. Both killed everyone on board. Post shooting responses ...ooooops sorry.

 

The RMAF has just saved some taxpayers money. I wonder what kind of posts will be posted here if the RMAF threw a couple of Sukhois to chase the Cessna of force land it.

 

Its nice to be a Malaysian when travelling, being a simple non threatening country we are always welcome everywhere.

 

 

[S V Choong 4]

Its nice to be a Malaysian when travelling, being a simple non threatening country we are always welcome everywhere.

 

Depends where you go I suppose, if we are to go to the USA, Japan and increasing the UK....... where Malaysians are likely to get asked a lot of question due to many of 'our' illegal overstayers in these countries.

Edited January 25, 2008 by S V Choong

[Naim 6]

Depends where you go I suppose, if we are to go to the USA, Japan and increasing the UK.......

 

Yeah, entering the US, I got to visit the 'secondary interview' rooms a few times already!

 

Anyway, after a few days our man squeaked.

 

==

 

The Star

Saturday January 26, 2008

MYT 6:07:43 PM

 

Civilian plane was no defence threat

 

By NG CHENG YEE

 

PETALING JAYA: The civilian plane which flew by Kota Baru and caused the shutdown of Singapore's commercial airspace for 50 minutes on Tuesday, was no threat to Malaysia's defence.

 

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said that was the reason the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) had allowed the plane from the Thai resort island of Koh Samui to enter Malaysian airspace.

 

"It was just a small plane and we had confirmed that it was no threat to the country's defence," he said after attending the memorial service of Prof Dr Wolfgang Franke here on Saturday.

 

He said the DCA immediately informed its Singaporean counterpart after getting information from the Thai DCA that the plane was having some problems and needed to be repaired in the island-nation.

 

It was reported that Singapore scrambled two F-16 fighters to intercept the aircraft, which was illegally heading towards the city-state's airspace.

 

The incident caused disruption of flights in and out of Changi after it sparked a major security alert.

 

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[Philip 1]

Chan Kong Choy: Haiyah, relek lah, you Singaporeans so uptight for what?? Small plane only mah, no need to so kan cheong!