Air traffic police have begun an investigation into events in the cockpit surrounding the suspected hijacking of a Spanish plane carrying holidaymakers to the Netherlands.

Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to escort the Veuling Airbus A320 to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport after radio contact with the cockpit was lost. This is standard procedure, air safety experts said.
The investigation will focus on communication with the cockpit and the pilot’s failure to follow air traffic controllers’ instructions, the national counter terrorism body NCTB told Nos television.
Arabic music
The probe will also look into claims that air traffic controllers heard Arabic music in the cockpit for a time. ‘That does not say much in itself and was not a convincing argument for intervention,’ the NCTB said.
The plane, with 183 passengers on board, was kept closed on the runway for some time after landing while the confusion was sorted out. Some passengers sent text and Twitter messages emphasising there was not a hijacking.
Airline Vueling also quickly said the alert had been prompted by a communications breakdown.
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