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A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight has landed safely at Changi Airport after sending out an emergency transponder code shortly after takeoff.
However, SIA later confirmed it was a false alarm.
Sent out emergency code
SQ37, which took off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Jun. 10 local time, sent a 7500 transponder code shortly after takeoff, which is used to indicate a possible hostile takeover of the aircraft.
The code is one of the three emergency transponder codes defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), where it is defined as "recognising an aircraft subject to unlawful interference".
The other two are 7600, which is used to indicate a loss of communications or radio failure, along with 7700, which is used for other emergencies.
What happened
Broadcast journalist Noreen Jameel tweeted about the transponder code about two hours after the plane took off.
The code was visible on at least one online flight tracker, according to the Daily Mail.
However, the flight continued on its normal course, and the emergency signal stopped, pointing towards a false alarm.
SIA later confirmed with Mothership it was a false alarm.
A spokesperson said:
"Singapore Airlines was in contact with the pilots on board SQ37, operated on an Airbus A350-900, which departed Los Angeles International Airport on 10 June 2022 at around 2355hrs local time.
(...)
The pilots confirmed that there was no emergency on board. The flight arrived in Singapore Changi Airport on 12 June 2022 at 0732hrs local time. "
However, the spokesperson did not explain why the signal was sent.
Plane landed safely
A check on Changi Airport's Jun. 12 arrivals confirmed that SQ37 landed safely at 7:32am -- slightly ahead of schedule.
There has only been one instance of an SIA flight being hijacked -- SQ117 was hijacked shortly after takeoff from Subang International Airport on March 26, 1991.
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) commandos stormed the plane after negotiations fell through, killing all four hijackers and leaving all the hostages unharmed.
Top photo from Wikipedia Commons.