Originally Posted by gofast
So much for the theory of passengers defending the flight deck.
Wrong.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=6366573
Passengers said the attacker, in his 30s, stood up without warning just minutes before the plane landed and walked to the open cockpit to attack the pilots. Some passengers screamed in fear but two others managed to overpower him.
"The situation was highly dramatic. The plane was only 100 feet off the ground when the pilots were attacked. They fought off the attacker while trying to gain control over the plane," said police official Margrete Torseter.
. . .
"Suddenly I heard someone cry out: "Come and help," said passenger Irene Lokland, 45. "I thought we were going to die. I was picturing my three children in my mind," she told Norwegian NRK radio.
She said she was one of two passengers who helped hold the attacker down until the flight landed and police dragged him out of the plane.
And this report claims the axe was likely carried, not the crash axe:
He had probably carried the axe on board, contrary to earlier information that it was part of the aircraft's emergency equipment, police said.
Also, it seems this plane had no cockpit door (pretty small), which certainly made it easier for the attacker to get to the cockpit crew.