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YVR hijacking suspect makes brief court appearance

Click to play video: 'Man charged with hijacking after stolen plane incident at YVR'
Man charged with hijacking after stolen plane incident at YVR
Shaheer Cassim has been charged with hijacking in relation to Tuesday's incident at YVR involving a stolen flight school Cessna. Aaron McArthur has the latest. – Jul 16, 2025

The man accused of allegedly hijacking a plane that triggered a security incident at Vancouver International Airport appeared briefly in a provincial court in Richmond, B.C., where his lawyer says they’re working on a plan to have him released on bail.

Shaheer Cassim was dressed in an orange prison outfit and acknowledged he could see and hear the judge, who scheduled another appearance for Cassim in two weeks.

An agent for Cassim’s defence lawyer Kevin Westell says they’ll take the time to work on a bail plan for the former commercial pilot who faces charges for allegedly taking a small aircraft from Victoria’s airport on July 15 and flying it over the Vancouver airport before he was arrested upon landing.

Click to play video: 'Mental health concerns following YVR incident'
Mental health concerns following YVR incident

The hearing Tuesday lasted minutes before the case was put over until Aug. 12, and the Crown prosecutor gave no indication whether bail for Cassim would be supported or opposed.

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Cassim, who is 39 years old, has been in custody at a pretrial facility in Surrey since his arrest and his court files have been placed under publication bans.

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He’s been charged with hijacking, which is an offence constituting terrorism, and with damaging or interfering with a navigation system.

 

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