Former commercial pilot charged with hijacking and terrorism over Vancouver flight

By Canadian Press on July 16, 2025.

VANCOUVER — 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.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025.

Darryl Greer and Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press

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