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`Malfunctioning of anti-hijack device caused scare'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI Aug. 20. The hijack scare involving an Indian Airlines flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here today was caused by the malfunctioning of an anti-hijacking device "remote transponder", the Civil Aviation Minister, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said.

At a press conference here, Mr. Rudy said the signals of a certain frequency were emitted by the remote transponder installed in the aircraft which alerted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the Srinagar-bound IC-825 flight was stopped minutes before take-off. The transponder, first of its kind on any IA plane, has additional built-in security features such as tamper-proof remote frequency.

The Minister said the Airbus A-320 was on its second flight after its formal induction today. In the morning, it had operated Delhi-Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Delhi flight and returned here and put on the Delhi-Srinagar sector. The plane, manufactured in 1993, was leased from Boullioun Leasing Company of Ireland. It had a remote transponder device fitted. Mr. Rudy announced two sets of inquiry into the hijack scare.

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