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| Down Under |
| Guy named Greg, passengers, thump would-be hijacker |
| 2003-05-29 |
| A man armed with two sharpened wooden stakes tried to hijack and crash a Qantas domestic jet with 47 passengers aboard shortly after take-off from Melbourne today, authorities said. The 40-year-old man stabbed two flight attendants and injured two other people before he was overpowered by crew and passengers aboard QF1737. Australian airport security will be reviewed after today's incident but authorities said the nation's worst aircraft hijacking attempt was not an act of terrorism. Nutcase, yes. Terrorist, we'll see. Shocked passengers later hailed a 38-year-old male flight attendant as a hero for helping to subdue the attacker, while being stabbed in the head. "The steward had a lot of blood on the back of his neck; he was good, very good, very brave," said passenger Joe Da Costa. Several passengers helped restrain the would-be hijacker with plastic ties, bundling him between two seats before the flight returned to Melbourne and made an emergency landing. The drama erupted 10 minutes after the Boeing 717, with six crew, took off for Launceston shortly before 3pm (AEST). Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon said the man — believed to be an Australian national — rose from his seventh row seat and proceeded towards the cockpit armed with two 15-centimetre wooden stakes. Wood will not show up on metal detectors. He said the male attendant and 25-year-old female attendant suffered gashes to the head and face during the struggle to subdue the attacker. They remembered what happens if he gets to the cockpit. Ambulance officers said the two were taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition with facial lacerations. Two passengers were also treated by paramedics at the scene for minor injuries. Federal Transport Minister John Anderson said the would-be hijacker had intended to crash the aircraft. "Very shortly after take-off ... the man started to become very threatening," he told reporters. "(He) apparently headed for the cabin, and seemed to be intent upon trying to force a nasty outcome. If you call an attempt to crash an aircraft, you might call that a hijacking. That's what I'd call it, along with attempted murder "I can only say that, on the information available to me at this point in time, it does not, although it looks like it was premeditated, it doesn't appear to have been an act of terrorism," Mr Anderson said. Check his passport and see if he's made any trips to Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. Federal agent Stephen Cato confirmed the incident was a hijack attempt. "We believe he was trying to take over the plane," Agent Cato said. He said no motive had yet been established. Mr Dixon said the cockpit door was locked but the plane did not have an enhanced security door, which are now being installed on all Qantas jet aircraft. I'd get a move on if I was you. Passengers on the plane were tonight offered counselling, onward flights and accommodation. Agent Cato said passengers who intervened and overwhelmed the man before he could get to the cockpit were "quite heroic". Passenger Keith Charlton was among those who helped overpower the attacker. He said he was seated in the third aisle of plane when a man in a "brown suit raced past me with his hands raised in the air". He said the man, who was holding aloft two sharpened wooden stakes, stabbed the chief flight attendant "Greg". "The fellow Greg, really was a hero ... if it wasn't for him we could've been in a lot of trouble," he told Sky News. "As he was being attacked, he put his head down into the man's chest and he pushed him back down the plane. Good man, Greg. Keep him away from the cockpit. "He had two severe injuries to his head; one was on the chin, one was on the top of his head," Mr Charlton said. Six men then rushed to Greg's aid. They remember Sept 11th as well. "Calm remained throughout the aircraft. There were one or two people who were quite angry about it but the aircraft was quite calm." After the hijacked was stomped to a bloody pulp. Mr Da Costa, of Melbourne, said the male flight attendant was covered in blood after being stabbed. "The steward tried to confront him and that's why he got stabbed," he said. Mr Anderson said the man went through metal detectors at Melbourne airport which failed to pick up the sticks. He said Australian airport security would have to be reviewed in light of the incident. "We are at world's best practice. It may well very be that there are lessons to learn out of this for Australian aviation and international aviation," he said. "If there's anything good to be drawn out of this very unfortunate episode it is that the safety of the aircraft and the people on it were secured." Well done, people. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #8 And there is still controversy over arming pilots? |
| Posted by: eric 2003-05-29 20:34:09 |
| #7 Not to be too flippant, given the injuries, but just to make sure, we should see if Greg and the other passengers have reflections in mirrors and aren't averse to garlic. |
| Posted by: Just John 2003-05-29 15:44:52 |
| #6 Someone please give Greg a medal of honor. If that hijacker had succeeded… |
| Posted by: Katz 2003-05-29 10:12:37 |
| #5 Memo to Qantas: Change Business Class area to Rugby Class. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-05-29 10:05:02 |
| #4 The problem is that if you really want to have a weapon on board, no regulations will stop you. Lots of things can be made sharp enough to cut throats. The good thing is that since 9/11 the passenger's behaviour has changed. You see anybody behaving badly, you beat the *** out of him and ask questions later. Note for airlines: Place the strongest guys just behind the cockpit door. Ummm you said that's business class? Well, ummm how much do you value security??? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-05-29 09:52:05 |
| #3 "Calm remained throughout the aircraft. There were one or two people who were quite angry about it but the aircraft was quite calm." I'm heading off to Australia in a week or so. If I witnessed this sort of thing, I'd be so pissed off that my fellow passengers would have to restrain me just to ensure that the hijacker would survive long enough to be taken into custody at the gate. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-05-29 09:34:06 |
| #2 After 9/11, anyone who is on an plane when a situation like this develops and does NOT help beat the perp to a pulp shouldn't be allowed to fly. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-29 09:21:36 |
| #1 God spoke to him? Still no description or name for the guy that I can find. |
| Posted by: Kathy K 2003-05-29 19:54:43 |