Do you remember the story about a guy
running amok with an axe, aboard a small
plane in northern Norway last year,
almost causing it to crash....... the
guy involved now has 17 years to think
about it.
from Reuters ....
"March 10, 2005
A Norwegian court sentenced an Algerian
man to 17 years in jail on Thursday for
running amok with an ax aboard a small
plane in northern Norway last year and
almost causing it to crash.
Bouteraa, 34, had argued he should be
acquitted, saying he had been
temporarily insane when he attacked and
injured the two pilots on the Kato Air
flight. The plane was carrying nine
people including the pilots and Bouteraa.
Bouteraa said he would appeal.
The court ruled that Bouteraa was
neither psychotic nor suffering from
other mental illness, NRK public radio
said. Bouteraa had said he was depressed
after his asylum application had been
rejected by Norwegian authorities.
Two other passengers overpowered
Bouteraa and the pilots managed to land
the plane with the cockpit splattered
with blood.
Bouteraa denied he had planned the
attack, saying he had a small ax in his
bags because he had planned to go
fishing. The luggage of the passengers
on the flight, from the town of Narvik
to Bodoe, was not checked.
The 17 year sentence matched the demands
of the prosecutor who had accused
Bouteraa of attempting a suicide attack.
Norway's stiffest sentence for any crime
is 21 years."
(Reuters)
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Passenger
attacks
pilots
with an
axe!
A
passenger
(a
Algerian
in his
thirties)
apparently
has
attacked
the
cockpit
crew of
the
small
Norwegian
airline
Kato air
( www.katoair.no)
with a
fire-axe
which is
part of
the
plane's
emergency
equipment.
The axe
was
taken
from its
place in
an
overhead
handluggage
compartment
Other
sources
says
that
this axe
is kept
in the
cockpit,
only
accessible
to the
pilots.
This is
supposed
to have
happened
during
approach
into
Bodo
Airport
(BOO).
Reports
of blood
in the
cockpit/cabin.
"Somebody
shouted;
come
help
us!" Two
of the
passengers
managed
to pull
the big
man out
of the
cockpit,
and to
keep him
controlled.
One of
the
passengers
says
that the
plane
was
moving
about,
and
descending,
only
recovering
"thirty
meters
from the
ground".
The
pilots
have
been
taken to
hospital,
at least
one
bleeding
severely
from the
head.
Not life
threatening
injuries.
One of
the
passengers
is also
injured.
The
attacker
seems to
have
been
taken
away in
a
straightjacket,
resisting
the
arrest.
Both
crew,
plus 7
passengers,
were
taken to
hospital
with
head
wounds.
The plane is a Dornier 228. Link to Norwegian papers:
http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/2004/09/29/409735.html
http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=247437
The
plane
departed
Narvik
Airport,
a small
airport
that
will not
get
equipment
for
scanning
and
safety checks
before
1.1.2005.
The
Dornier
228
didn't
have a
"bulletproof"
cockpit
door
either.
At least
until
recently
it has
been
customary
for the
main
airline
in
northern
Norway (Wideroe)
to keep
the
cockpit
door
open
during
flight.
I guess
those
days are
over
now.
Last
December
a
Dornier
228
operated
by Kato
Air was
hit by
lightning,
causing
the
elevator
to be
inoperable.
The
pilots
managed
to fly
the
aircraft
to the
destination
airport
by using
only
elevator
trim.
The
plane
crash-landed
at the
very
beginning
of the
runway,
following
a
go-around.
http://www.airliners.net/discussions...main/1288577/5
The
D228
doesn't
in fact
have a
cockpit
door,
that is
its
always
open -
no way
to
close.
Police
also now
saying
it was
not the
crash
ax, but
an ax
carried
on board
by the
perp.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3700146.stm
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Pilot says the attack commenced when the aircraft was on finals, at approximately 4000ft.
They plunged to 100ft due to the Algerian pushing the control column forward.
Nose up pitch was gained with other means (perhaps elevator trim/????) during recovery from the dive.
After the battle between the attacker and passengers, the column was released. This resulted in violent nose up pitch attitude change with a climb to 1200ft, where the aircraft stalled, and nosed down again. The aircraft was subsequently recovered, and after the attacker had been subdued, was landed safely.
Both pilots lost their headsets, and weren't able to establish contact with ATC during/after the incident. Security checks that should have been implemented on all regional airports in Norway on May 5th this year, were postponed until the end of the year. After this dramatic happening, improvised security checks have now been implemented country wide.
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The man attacked
as the plane was
about to land at
Bodoe
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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.
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