A man on a long-haul KLM flight KL897 from Amsterdam to Beijing attacked and slightly wounded a co-pilot before being subdued by other passengers, the Dutch airliner said Tuesday (Jan 5).
“The confused passenger locked himself in the toilets and inflicted slight wounds on himself either with a knife or with a piece of broken glass. He then slightly wounded the co-pilot in one of the kitchens in the cabin,” said KLM. The man was overwhelmed and attached to a seat for the rest of the journey.
At no point was the plane in danger.
The flight took off Sunday around 1635 GMT from Amsterdam Schipholand landed safely at 0231 GMT Monday.
The attacker was taken off the flight by about 15 policemen who were waiting for the plane to land on the tarmac in Beijing.
KLM said the co-pilot was treated for his injuries in Beijing and was now back in the Netherlands.
Statement KL897 Amsterdam Beijing – zondag 3 januari
Vervolgens heeft deze passagier een van de co-piloten licht verwond in een van de galleys in de cabine. Daarop is de passagier door de bemanning en medepassagiers overmeesterd.
De vliegveiligheid is niet in het geding geweest en het vliegtuig is veilig in Beijing geland. De vlucht werd uitgevoerd met vier vliegers waardoor te allen tijde twee vliegers in de cockpit aanwezig waren.
KLM-crew is uitstekend getraind om in dit soort situaties adequaat te handelen. De betrokken vlieger is in Beijing behandeld en maakt het goed en is inmiddels terug in Nederland.
