Passenger attacks pilots with axe

The man attacked as the plane was about to land at Bodoe
A man has been arrested after attacking two pilots and a passenger with an axe on an internal flight in Norway.
The pilots managed to bring the plane in to land safely, and were then taken to hospital with the injured passenger.

A police prosecutor said the attacker may have boarded with the axe. Earlier it was thought he may have taken it from the plane’s emergency equipment.

The plane was on a 20-minute flight between the northern towns of Narvik and Bodoe when the attack took place.

“There were no security controls at Narvik airport today” where the plane took off, Bodoe prosecutor Bjarte Walla told BBC News Online.

Norway is due to install improved security measures for internal flights by 2005.

“From the new year these small regional airports have to have security checkpoints,” Mr Walla said.

No separation

The plane was a 20-seater Dornier 228 operated by the small regional airline Kato Air, with seven passengers on board.

The plane is said to have no separation between pilots and passengers.

The man attacked just before 1100 (0900 GMT) “as the plane was about to land at Bodoe – it had begun landing procedures”, Mr Walla said.

He said the pilots both suffered head injuries, though they were not thought to be life-threatening.

The man was described as an Algerian in his 30s.

“We don’t really know anything about a motive,” Mr Walla said. “We are not ruling any possibility out.”

He said the incident was dealt with quickly and there was no impact on other flights in and out of Bodoe airport, which serves as a hub for smaller airports in northern Norway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3700146.stm