Ex-pilot called himself messiah on climate-change mission, day before alleged hijack

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The day before the suspected hijacking of a light aircraft triggered a security scare at Vancouver’s airport this week, former commercial pilot Shaheer Cassim posted on social media that he was a “messenger of Allah” sent to save humanity from climate change.

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A 39-year-old man with the same name has now been charged with hijacking, constituting terrorism, over the incident on Tuesday that saw Norad scramble F-15 fighter jets before the light plane safely landed.

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RCMP say the suspect had an “ideological motive” and allegedly seized control of the plane at Victoria International Airport after threatening a flight instructor, before flying to Vancouver.

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Images posted on social media depicting the arrest of the Cessna’s pilot on the north runway of YVR show a bearded man who resembles climate activist Cassim.

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In his Facebook post on Monday, Cassim says he’s the “messiah sent to save humanity from climate change and usher in an era of world peace.”

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He warns of “abrupt runaway global warming” that will cause humans to go extinct within a few years.

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In 2012, Cassim held a news conference before going on a cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness for global warming.

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His Facebook profile says he was employed from 2008 to 2010 by now-defunct KD Air, a small airline based on Vancouver Island.

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The airline’s former owners, Diana and Lars Banke, said in an interview that Cassim was one of the smartest and best pilots they ever worked with, calling him a fast learner who was highly intelligent.

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But Lars Banke said Cassim left the airline after getting “bored” and then went to medical school. He also said Cassim believed the world was coming to an end.

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Diana Banke said she was “very surprised” to hear of Cassim’s charges, saying he was quite young when he worked for them and was “like a kid.”

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“Something would (have to) be going on that’s not normal,” Lars Banke said. “He was, I would say, a caring person.”

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Diana Banke said she remembered Cassim “doing a really long bicycle trek,” and that he brought a dog along with him.

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Lars Banke said he recalled that Cassim was somewhat interested in environmentalism, but he was unaware of any kind of religious beliefs.

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“He never spoke religion with us,” Diana Banke said.

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Cassim’s online posts include musings on religion, climate science, and advocacy for tolerance and peace, including a claim “the Angel Gabriel appeared before me and gave me a message from Allah.”

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“I’m really surprised that he would’ve done something like this,” Diana Banke said.

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His Facebook profile says Cassim attended high school in Lloydminster, Alta., before studying aviation at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

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He also describes himself as the editor of a blog devoted to the impact of climate change on the Arctic. It includes hundreds of posts since 2011, many of them highly technical, with the latest entry made on Saturday.

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It is titled: “Will humans go extinct soon?”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.

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