Hijack scare at Delhi after pilot presses wrong button on Kandahar plane

New Delhi: A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight led to panic among security officials at the Delhi airport on Saturday after the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off, sources said.

The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks, they said.

While there was no immediate official reaction, the sources said the pressing of hijack button had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action.

NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said.

After a two-hour operation that created panic among passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, the sources said.

The Delhi-Kandahar FG312 flight was scheduled to depart at 3:30 pm.