A headline caused quite a commotion online when reporting that an SAA airplane had been hijacked early today.
The Intelligence Bureau Facebook Page broke the news which quickly sent South Africa into a panic.
The Intelligence Bureau explain that they are an investigative network which operates in and throughout South Africa.
They have since edited their status to explain what had happened with the Airline.
News sites like ENCA quickly spread the headline but later deleted the story from their archives when realising it was false.
The airline in question were quick to report on what was going on to clear up the confusion.
The airline said in a tweet that the hijack alert for the flight “appears to be an anomaly”.
Reports indicated that the radar system sent out an incorrect signal.
“We have been in contact with our pilots & can confirm that no hijacking has taken place,” SA Airlink earlier confirmed.
We confirm that hijack alert for SA8678 on 11 July 2016 from CT to Wonderboom appears to be an anomaly. 72 passengers & 4 crew members safe.
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— Airlink (@Fly_Airlink) July 11, 2016
We have been in contact with our pilots & can confirm that no hijacking has taken place.
— Airlink (@Fly_Airlink) July 11, 2016
In a statement on its website, Airlink said the hijack alert for flight SA8678 was an anomaly, with the aircraft emitting the anomalous alert through its transponder.
“The passengers, crew and aircraft are all safe and on the ground at Wonderboom Airport where authorities have held the aircraft as a prescribed precautionary measure while they verify that all is in good order.
“Airlink will assist the investigating authorities with their inquiry, which is a mandatory step following such incidents. Airlink has also initiated an internal investigation into the erroneous transmission,” the company said.
Meanwhile, twitter users joined the conversation…
Airlink hijacking at Wonderboom is a false alarm. Apparently the radar sent out the wrong signal. #BREAKING
— Aki Anastasiou (@AkiAnastasiou) July 11, 2016
I think people are more amazed that there are flights from Wonderboom to CT than the actual Hijacking scare. @Fly_Airlink
— craig white (@craigwhitedj) July 11, 2016
Unconfirmed reports that the Wonderboom non-hijacking situation was #PokemonGO related…
— The D (is silent) (@4thWiseMan) July 11, 2016
The "hijacking" news is evidence again of people being overeager to break news first without verifying validity and authenticity.
— I am an African 🇿🇦 (@Clint_ZA) July 11, 2016
It's crazy how hungry the world is for bad news, consider today's plane hijacking that was false.
— MK (@bheng_ladesh) July 11, 2016
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