There was a red-faced pilot but no real harm done last Thursday when a Continental Airlines pilot enabled the transponder on the Boeing 737 he was flying from Cleveland to Boston to transmit a hijack code. The accidental distress call came about 100 miles into the flight and the pilot tried to assure authorities on the ground that it was, indeed, a simple mistake. But the authorities were having none of that. “…We’re going to take every precaution and treat situations as if it was (sic) an emergency until we’re satisfied the passengers were (sic) safe,” Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Ann Davis told the Boston Herald. NORAD was notified but no fighters were scrambled. However, an impressive show awaited the passengers as they touched down at Logan. “Right after we landed, we knew something was going on,” said passenger Elizabeth Boles, of Cleveland. Emergency vehicles followed the plane on the runway and then it was directed to a remote area where the pilot was ordered to leave the aircraft for a quick Q & A on the tarmac. Wonder what he put in the log?
