Monday plane attacks
From WikiStates
| Monday plane attacks | |
|---|---|
 Sandale Plaza on fire following the aircraft crash |
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| Location | Dastin City and Hurin Sea |
| Date | Monday, 28 December, 2009 3:08 p.m. - 7:09 p.m. (Garmidia Standard Time) |
| Attack type | Aircraft hijacking, Mass murder, Suicide attack |
| Deaths | 3,098 victims, 14 hijackers |
| Injured | 8,000+ |
| Perpetrator(s) | The Brigade lead by Qasim Rami. |
The Monday plane attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks on Garmidia that took place on December 28, 2009 when three commercial jet airliners were hijacked, Air Garmidia Flight 918, Pathway Air Flight 254 and Smooth Airways Flight 74. Flight 918 crashed into the Hurin Sea at 3:08 p.m. en route to Salisbury, United Anacreon from Terrance, Garmidia, Flight 254 was deliberately crashed in the Capsan Lake in Dastin City en route from Ashford, Garmidia to Greenfield, Pereese Islands and Flight 74 struck the Sandale Plaza Tower in central Dastin City en route to Portan City, Garmidia from Penrose, Garmidia. The Sandale Plaza Tower later collapsed. All were scheduled commercial passenger flights. Air Force F22 Raptors and helicopters were dispatched to the area of Flight 918 as well as Naval vessels. The Coast Guard and Navy wrapped up their search with no results for the Black Boxes of Flight 918 and Flight 254 on January 3.
President of Garmidia Sam Philips ordered an aircraft ground stop at 5:25 p.m. in Dastin City, Terrance and Ashford - which house Garmidia's largest airports. Inbound aircraft to Garmidia were diverted to numerous airports in Sierra Apathia. At 5:41, Sam Philips extended that ground stop to all international airports in Garmidia and at 5:51 it was further extended to every airport and aircraft in Garmidia, causing major panic across the country. On January 1, the first commercial flights were allowed to fly. Sam Philips also ordered the FDCON (Force Defense Condition) to be raised to 2 on December 28, the highest the defense alert system has ever been in it's 20 year history, and on January 6, the FDCON was lowered. All hijackers were identified by January 1.
Garmidia responded by launching a military conflict against Malawan, which had refused to extradite top Brigade leaders, including Qasim Rami.
Contents |
Flight plans
- Further information: Air Garmidia Flight 918, Pathway Air Flight 254, and Smooth Airways Flight 74
Flight 918 was intended to fly non-stop for 14 hours to Salisbury Airport in United Anacreon from Terrance, Garmidia. The National Aviation Administration confirmed there were 209 passengers and 13 crew members on board the plane, and the two pilots were Joseph Ranger (Pilot) and Bob Greenfield (co-pilot). No problems were reported by customs when passengers boarding the flight were checked routinely. Contact was lost with the flight at 3:00.
Flight 254 was scheduled to fly non-stop for 9 hours from Ashford, Garmidia to Greenfield, Pereese Islands. The NAA confirmed Flight 254 was also a Boeing 747-400, and that 187 passengers and 11 crew members were aboard the aircraft. The pilot is Nancy Lerrigan and the co-pilot is Joshua Rogers. No problems reported at customs.
Flight 74 was scheduled to fly non-stop for an hour to Portan City, Garmidia from Penrose, Garmidia, the only domestic passenger flight involved. NAA confirmed there was 109 passengers and 5 crew members aboard the plane. The pilot is Paul Starrick, and the co-pilot is Carlson Bevrage.
The majority of passengers on all three planes were Garmidian.
Attacks
Flight 918 took off from Terrance International Airport at 2:21 p.m., in perfect weather conditions. Air Garmidia had been used to flying en route to United Anacreon before. Normal contact was made with the Terrance Control Tower back on the ground until about 2:57, when the planes transponder signal was changed at 2:58. The transponder was not turned off, so ATC could still monitor the planes data. 8 unsuccessful attempts were made to contact the plane, between 2:58 and 3:02. At 3:03, air traffic controllers at Terrance Airport overheard a statement coming from the flight deck of Flight 918;
| “ | We have taken control. We have taken control, don't try anything. You will be hurt otherwise. | ” |
The recording was analyzed by Air Traffic Controllers at Terrance before being passed on to the National Aviation Agency at 3:07. It is now believed to be the voice of Haman Sheikh, a hijacker. The plane dropped off the radar at 3:08 over the Hurin Sea. Whilst the NAA was busy monitoring the disappearance of Flight 918 and the suspicious cockpit recordings, an Air Traffic Controller at Ashford International Airport reported, at 3:21, that Flight 254 was not responding to ATC instructions or talk.
The information was immediately passed on to the NAA who informed NATAD (National Air Defense) of the ongoing situation. Several controllers tried to contact Flight 254, but were unsuccessful. NATAD scrambled 2 F-22 Raptors at 3:45, however they were too far away and NATAD did not have the authorization to shoot down a passenger aircraft.
The transponder was changed at 4:08, however, just like Flight 918, data about the planes altitude, speed and whereabouts could still be attained by ATC. It was rapidly descending and by 4:11 was at a speed of 309 km/h. At 4:21 the plane crashed into the Capsan Lake in Dastin City.
Air Traffic controllers were ordered to check their radar and contact all aircraft following numerous reports about an explosion at the Sandale Plaza Tower at 5:51. An ATC controller at Portan City International Airport reported that the incoming Flight 74 was nowhere to be seen and they couldn't communicate to the flight deck. Flight 74 was supposed to have landed and switched Portan International Airport's frequency at 5:50. Other ATC controllers also reported Flight 74 missing.
It was revealed that at 5:47, flying at a speed of 397 km/h, Flight 74 crashed into the Sandale Plaza Tower, igniting a huge fire which burned until 7:09 when the tower collapsed, causing extensive damage to the surrounding building and forcing the collapse of the Karlson Bank, adjacent the Sandale Plaza. A fire did still burn after it had collapsed, though not as major as the original impact fire. Reports vary of how many people were in the building at the time of the collapse, though according to emergency services at least 503 people called for help while they were trapped inside the buildings. They reported over 700 - 900 people were in the building at the time of the collapse. Several structures around the Plaza Tower collapse, resulting in serious damage to surrounding buildings, some of which were demolished in the days following the attacks.
Effects
President Sam Philips ordered all aircraft ground stopped at Garmidia's three major airports in Dastin City, Ashford and Terrance at 5:25, he then extended that to all international airports in Garmidia at 5:41, and further extended it to every aircraft in Garmidia at 5:51.
The Garmidian Air Force and elements of the Apathian Air Force helped all international and domestic aircraft to numerous airports in Sierra Apathia as part of Operation Mercy. Some 202 commercial aircraft were diverted to Greenwich-KLZ airport, with other flights going to John Delacruise International Airport. Smaller planes, such as Learjets and Beech Kings, were diverted to Clydesdale International Airport. Effects on transportation were huge, with hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. The Subway and Train Authority in Dastin City and Ashford shut off train and subway services for two days, while the Bus Authority did the same. The Garmidian Air Force patrolled the skies until January 7, and only medical aid flights and other rescue flights were allowed in with military escorts. The ground stop finished on January 1.
Casualties
| Deaths (excluding hijackers) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dastin City | Sandale Plaza | 2,564 |
| Smooth 74 | 114 | |
| Pathway 254 (Capsan lake) | 198 | |
| Hurin Sea | Garmidia 918 | 222 |
| Total | 3,098 | |
In total, there were 3,098 casualties from the attacks, excluding the hijackers.
2,564 casualties from the impact of the plane, subsequent fire and collapse of the Sandale Plaza Tower (includes subsequent collapses of buildings around the plaza) occurred.
On December 29, a further 60 people were pulled alive from the collapsed tower and a massive search and rescue effort got underway. Remnants of Flight 254 which crashed in the Capsan Lake was also found, however the black box and other vital instruments were not. Searchers stopped looking for Flight 918 which crashed into the Hurin Sea. There were no survivors from either Flight 918 or Flight 254. 24 firefighters died as a direct result of fighting the fire at the Sandale Plaza and the subsequent collapse. In terms of casualties, this is Garmidia's deadliest terror attack.
Rescue and recovery effort
The Dastin City Fire Department deployed 500 fully equipped units to battle the fire in the Sandale Plaza. Due to poor communications, more than 30 firefighters were inside the Plaza at the time of the collapse at 7:09. Since it was mostly nighttime when the fire took place, it was hard to assess structural damage efficiently and decide whether the structure was going to collapse or not. 4 firefighters were pulled alive from the rubble, and more than 60 civilians were pulled alive on December 29.
There was a massive aviation and water search underway for the black boxes of Flights 918 and 254, which were ditched into the Hurin Sea and Capsan Lake respectively. Fragments and debris of aircraft were found beneath their crash sites, however the black boxes of both aircraft were destroyed beyond repair upon their high-speed impacts. On January 3, the search was called off for the black boxes.
Attackers and responsibility
The Garmidia National Intelligence Service was able to identify the hijackers within a day of the attacks from flight manifests, background history, passports and other identification. Through checking their background history, all were found to have connections to The Brigade, the group responsible for the May 10 attacks. It is believed Ehan Afif, a Pakistani national who was aboard Flight 254, was the ringleader of the hijackers. 4 of the hijackers were Saudi Arabian nationals, 4 were Pakistani nationals, 3 were Yemenite nationals, 1 was an Omani national and 2 were UAE nationals.
On December 30, the GNIS released the photos of the 14 hijackers involved. On January 1, the Garmidia Military Intelligence Authority intercepted a call from a known associate of Qasim Rami (leader of The Brigade) to someone in the Republic of Perene, stating he had 'heard good things about the operation.'
The Brigade
The Brigade is an Islamic terrorist organization who's origins can be traced to shortly after the 1994 bombing of Meqchistan by Garmidia. It was started by Qasim Rami in 1994, who remains it's leader.
Qasim Rami is a Bahraini national (who moved to Meqchistan) who is responsible for forming The Brigade in 1993, with funding and training from the Meqchistani government, a year after Garmidia bombed Meqchistan. His organization has been responsible for numerous small terror attacks against foreign nationals in Meqchistan, though only gained notoriety after the May 10 attacks.
Planning of the attacks
The Garmidia National Intelligence Service says that planning for the attacks could have started as early as 2004 or 2003, long before the War in Meqchistan. It is believed Dawid Shihab Inayat presented the idea to Rami as early as 1999 or 2000, but did not get permission to go ahead with the planning or get resources for planning until 2002 - 2003. The Brigade had been in a period of transition in 1999 - 2000, having started relocation from Libya to Meqchistan.
It is believed over $12 million was funneled through various militant organizations to The Brigade once word had spread that something 'big was happening'. Qasim Rami was careful to keep the plans to only his top associates and planners during the planning phase, however all who knew about something happening were keen to help. Rami and Inayat began selecting hijackers from associate and puppet organizations of The Brigade, and all began arriving in Garmidia between 2004 and 2006. Some attended flight schools in Dastin City, Ashford and many others.
Dawid Shihab Inayat
Dawid Shihab Inayat, not originally a member of The Brigade, had gone to great lengths to obtain valuable time to meet with Qasim Rami to discuss what he called the 'great holy Monday operation'. It apparently took him 3 years to contact Qasim Rami, made easier by the fact that he was part of an organization that received supplementary funding and had close ties to The Brigade.
Rami is described as saying, "I'll give this holy man 40 minutes of my time. He has ideas, we are always looking for ideas." Inayat and Rami met in Burastad, the capital of Meqchistan where Inayat presented a 20 minute presentation on his plan to 'attack Garmidia on a scale they have never seen before'. Rami is said to have immediately liked the project, and offered Inayat a place in The Brigade, which he accepted.
Aftermath
Immediate response
- Further information: Aftermath of the Monday plane attacks, Airport security repercussions due to the Monday plane attacks, Closings and cancellations following the Monday plane attacks, Reactions to the Monday plane attacks, and Garmidian military response during the Monday plane attacks
The terror attacks had immediate effects on the Garmidian people. Many officers and rescue workers from the states and cities surrounding Dastin City rushed in to help with coordinated rescue efforts in recovering people and bodies from the wreckage of the Sandale Plaza.
For the first time in Garmidian history, the National Aviation Agency had been forced to invoke their emergency defense measures, by shutting down Garmidian airspace on Sam Philips orders for four days and diverting all incoming traffic to another country, (Sierra Apathia in this case, as part of Operation Mercy) or have them turned back.
Military response
Sam Philips had ordered the FDCON be raised to 2, the highest it's ever been. During the attacks, NATAD (National Air Defense) had scrambled only 5 military aircraft in response to the attacks. Sam Philips requested the Air Force patrol the skies for the next month, and as such, over 1,000 aircraft are patrolling the skies. Sierra Apathia, Garmidia's principal ally, also sent aircraft to help patrol the skies as well as divert aircraft.
In the hours and days following the attacks, thousands of National Guard troops were called up to major urban areas, airports, supermarkets, malls, tourist attractions and other sites around Garmidia to provide extra security to Police forces already stationed there.
Sam Philips made an address to the public stating that The Brigade was responsible for the attacks and that they had significant reason to believe Malawan was harboring the terrorists, and financially supporting them.
Investigation
The Garmidia National Intelligence Service, Federal Investigative Authority, Garmidia Military Intelligence Authority, units from the Department of Defense, the Garmidia National Police Authority and other investigative teams launched their official investigation on December 29 into the attacks to piece together exactly what happened on December 28, named the Monday Plane Attacks Commission. Their investigation is the largest in Garmidian history, with just over 45,000 agents participating. It is also the first in which the GNIS, FIA, GMIA, DOD and GNPA came together to investigate something.
The investigation, which was released in March 2010, revealed information about the hijackers and their backgrounds, as well as detailing the response during and after the incident. It also justifies the actions taking in invading Malawan in response to the attacks, which occurred in early February 2010.
Findings
A serious lack of Airport security was outlined by the investigation. After the attacks, several Airport security measures were undertaken by individual airports themselves and the government. The backgrounds of all hijackers was also outlined, and their events prior to the boardings of the hijacked flights, also, was outlined.
The commission reports on events dating back to 1999 and 2000, and briefly includes The Brigades' history. How the hijackers entered Garmidia was also reported on.
International reaction
Sierra Apathia
On December 28th, 2009, President Jim Stone was notified at 1pm Apathian time (5:50pm in Garmidia) by ANN news broadcasts that unconfirmed reports of a Garmidian commercial airline was missing over the Hurin Sea. At the time, he was flying aboard his presidential jet back from Greston. He was then called 15 minutes later by Estrada Palace staff and was then fully acknowledged of the event. Then, at 1:30pm (Apathian time), Jim Stone called Sam Philips via a secure line, sending condolences, and discussed the possibility of a redirect of air traffic to Sierra Apathia. After half an hour of intense negotiations, Stone agreed to cooperate in Operation Mercy, a operation that was supposedly aimed to redirect all incoming air traffic to Sierra Apathia.
At 3pm Apathian time (8pm Garmidian time), Jim Stone launched a press conference after he arrived in Sierra Apathia. Jim stated "An act of terrorism has struck our ally" and "That we will help them in their hour of need". Stone also announced he would place the suspected terrorists (Alwan az-Yakan and Buh Tahk Nguyen) on FIB's most wanted list, but is unconfirmed how it is prioritized. That night, Stone ordered the Apathian Air Force to be sent to Garmidia for the first time, and patrol the skies along with their Garmidian allies. Stone has not released a figure on how many has he sent.
It was reported that ANN correspondents has already been on the scene, and are currently providing more updates. At 7am Apathian time the next morning, Stone ordered two major airports (John Delacruise Airport and Greenwich-KLZ Airport) to be closed in order to assist in Operation Mercy. At 10am Apathian time, Jim raised the DEFCON to level 4, simultaneously calling upon the national guard.
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