problem with the air crew. When it landed at the airport, witnesses reported that the RCMP ordered the crew out of the plane at gunpoint. The incident was a misunderstanding caused by a malfunctioning transponder and translation error. A year after the event, then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien revealed that he had given permission to the intercepting fighter jets to shoot down the airliner if the fighter pilots believed that the plane carried terrorists. Global and the National Post reported that a similar incident occurred at Vancouver International Airport. Two U.S. F-15s escorted an Air China Boeing 747 bound from Beijing to San Francisco onto the airport's north runway. Officials at the airport reported that it was purely a communication problem. Reaction Prior to landing, most pilots did not inform passengers of the situation or the attacks in order to avoid fear and panic. On some planes, even pilots were unaware of the terrorist attacks. Global TV quoted one pilot telling reporters: "When we were in the air, we really didn't know what was going on. All we heard was security measures and we were diverted. That was all we knew…" Only after landing did pilots tell passengers what had happened, sometimes addressing passengers directly in the cabin. The Washington Post quoted a woman whose flight from Frankfurt to Dallas was diverted to Pearson, saying that three hours before landing, the pilot announced that the plane was heading through turbulence. She went on to say that "then he said we were experiencing strong headwinds and we had to land in Canada to refuel. When we landed, he said, 'Okay, there's been a terrorist attack.'" Passengers had to wait for hours to disembark because Transport Canada was on high-security alert. The RCMP deployed extra personnel to airports so that they could perform a security sweep of each aircraft, lined up on closed runways at most airports. They also increased their presence in the airport terminals. At some airports, stranded passengers watched television coverage while others talked to the airport chaplains, as at Pearson. Airports had crisis support teams to help them. The CBC reported that the operation received thanks from Washington. Norman Mineta, the United States Secretary of Transportation, said at a White House news briefing that "we owe our Canadian neighbours a debt of gratitude for helping us as we redirected…flights and their passengers to airports in Canada." On the tenth