Former commercial pilot charged with hijacking and terrorism over Vancouver flight

A man who allegedly seized a light aircraft in Victoria, setting off a security scare at Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday, has been charged with hijacking and terrorism offences. 

A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada provided a court file number that matches a case in B.C. Provincial Court involving a former commercial airline pilot based in Victoria. 

The man is Shaheer Cassim, who has previously been involved in climate activism.

In 2012, Cassim held a news conference in Victoria at the start of a cross-country bicycle trek to raise awareness of global warming.

Norad says it scrambled F-15s in response to the alleged hijacking of a Cessna that belonged to the Victoria Flying Club, but the plane landed and the man was arrested before the fighter jets arrived. 

RCMP have not disclosed a potential motive in the case, but a recorded conversation involving a Vancouver air traffic controller suggests the alleged hijacking may have been motivated by "some type of protest."

Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Ariel Schalit