Passenger attacks flight crew with axe.
Sep 29, 2004 | 9:01 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Oslo,Norway
Posts: 421
Sep 29, 2004 | 9:09 am
#3
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS and vicinity
Programs: Former UA 1P
Posts: 3,730
Originally Posted by gofast
So much for the theory of passengers defending the flight deck.
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.
"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.
He had probably carried the axe on board, contrary to earlier information that it was part of the aircraft's emergency equipment, police said.
Sep 29, 2004 | 4:04 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Arlington VA
Posts: 5,735
Originally Posted by gofast
So much for the theory of passengers defending the flight deck.
Had this happened in Texas it would have been a different outcome.
Sep 29, 2004 | 5:43 pm
#5
Moderator: Coupon Connection & S.P.A.M
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Louisville, KY
Programs: Destination Unknown, TSA Disparager Diamond (LTDD)
Posts: 58,133
Originally Posted by gofast
"Ms Lokland said two male passengers grabbed the attacker, then dragged him out of the cockpit. She said he was shouting and struggling as the plane touched down. The passengers held the man until police boarded and arrested a man in his 30s. He told them he was from Algeria."
Sep 29, 2004 | 6:18 pm
#7
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 46,817
Sep 29, 2004 | 6:43 pm
#8
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: MKE, formerly the closest FT-er to LAX
Posts: 715
Originally Posted by WillTravel
The question is how did he get an axe on board, and the likely answer is complete lack of security, based on my limited experience at a small airport in Norway.
Sep 30, 2004 | 8:20 am
#9
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,467
Originally Posted by WillTravel
The question is how did he get an axe on board, and the likely answer is complete lack of security, based on my limited experience at a small airport in Norway.
Sep 30, 2004 | 10:24 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Oslo,Norway
Posts: 421
Originally Posted by WillTravel
The question is how did he get an axe on board, and the likely answer is complete lack of security, based on my limited experience at a small airport in Norway.
Only 17 of Norway's 46 civil airports have equipment and procedures for weapon checks, though total security measures are planned to be in place by Jan. 1 2005 at the smaller, regional airports. The Civil Aviation Authority had an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss the necessity of immediate measures, such as handheld metal detectors, at regional airports.
