Woman knifes pilot in New Zealand cockpit terror
A knife-wielding woman stormed the cockpit of a New Zealand domestic flight, stabbing both pilots and threatening to blow up the plane before she was subdued.
The Air National flight landed safely at Christchurch in southern New Zealand and the 33-year-old woman was arrested, police said.
None of the seven passengers was injured, but the pilot had a severely cut hand and the co-pilot was injured in his foot.
Police did not say who restrained the woman aboard last night’s flight.
The flight took off from the regional city of Blenheim, bound for the tourist city of Christchurch, about 220 miles south of the capital Wellington.
Christchurch police commander Dave Cliff said the woman – a Blenheim resident but originally from Somalia – entered the cockpit and attacked the pilots before being restrained. She had said there was a bomb on board.
An army bomb disposal team searched the twin-propeller Jetstream plane but found no explosives, Mr Cliff said.
The passengers included four New Zealanders, an Australian and an Indian. One passenger received a minor hand injury when the plane was evacuated on landing, shortly after 8am local time (7pm Irish time).
Emergency vehicles surrounded the aircraft on the tarmac and the airport was closed to incoming and outgoing flights. The airport was reopened after about three hours.
Air New Zealand general manager of short haul airlines, Bruce Parton, said the airline was reviewing its security procedures.
Passengers boarding short haul flights at New Zealand airports do not routinely pass through security screening.
