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A man who hijacked a plane in Victoria last summer then flew it to Vancouver International Airport, triggering a response from fighter jets, has pleaded guilty to two terrorism charges.
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On July 15, 2025, Shaheer Cassim boarded a small Cessna 172 aircraft at Victoria International Airport with an instructor onboard and after threatening the instructor took over the controls. The instructor got out of the plane before it took off, with Cassim flying directly to Vancouver.
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He then circled the airport for 25 minutes, forcing its closure, before landing and being arrested.
He was subsequently charged with hijacking, which is an offence constituting terrorism, and with damaging or interfering with a navigation system.
Cassim, a former commercial pilot, posted on social media the day before the airport security scare that he was a “messenger of Allah” sent to save humanity from catastrophic climate change.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada told The Canadian Press that Cassim had pleaded guilty in a Richmond court Tuesday to both charges.
The service said the charges constituted terrorist activities.
Cassim is due back in court at the end of May to schedule a sentencing hearing.
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dcarrigg@postmedia.com
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