Ask Captain Lim ~ All about Aviation - How do you answer this difficult question on hijacking in a pilot interview?

Well done on the website! What you have put in your website are fabulous and amazing. I have really learned a lot about the Boeing 777 from it. Actually, the main reason I send you this email is because I am attending an interview for the position of cadet pilot with SIA (Singapore Airlines) next week, Monday. I need some more advice from you.

I have searched through your website and you did put up a list of questions that would be asked during the interview. To tell you the truth, I have attended a cadet pilot interview at the beginning of the year but I did not make it to the second round. I guess I was not well prepared at that time.

There was one question that I really didn't know how to answer. The scenario was, "If you are the PIC (pilot-in-charge) and your airplane has been hijacked. What would you do if they demand that you open the cockpit door or else they would start killing the passengers one by one?"

Besides that, what else do I need to get prepared for? I have already read up on all the necessary things like, how an aircraft flies, the aircraft's parts and description, basic flying knowledge, SIA company information, fleet size and pilot's lifestyle. Do you think that I should go all the way to learn about the basic technical details about the Boeing 747 and Boeing 777, since most of SIA's fleets are from Boeing?

Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you very much!

Yoon Kong

Hi Yoon Kong,

Regarding the question on hijacking, if you have read about the rules Airlines abided by in the past, they have now been changed since Sept 11. Before this period, pilots were encouraged not to confront hijackers but made efforts to win their confidence and to get the airplane safely onto the ground. Today, pilots have been mentally reconditioned to respond to any hijackers' threat against crewmember or passengers. For instance, if a captain is being notified through an interphone that the hijackers are about to kill a flight attendant or passenger unless he opens the cockpit door, he has to make the most unpleasant decision of his life and refuse to accede to the command. "Go ahead, but they are not coming in!" This is how the mindset and attitude of the pilots in El Al Israeli Airlines are being trained to adopt to. It is also one of the main reasons why the Airline hasn't had a hijacking since 1968 in spite of being regarded as a high threat target.

If you have read most of the tips and guidelines on this site, it would greatly enhance your confidence in the interview. SIA do not expect you to know in great details of the various airplane systems in the Boeing 777's or 747's. The most important thing is poise and confidence in your intelligent answers. Ariff's tips and guidelines during the interview in my site is helpful if you can prepare some good answers to them.

Best of luck to you!