Hijacking attempt foiled

27 March 2007

BRUSSELS – A Frenchman who tried to cause the flight he was on board from Brussels to Toulouse to crash on Saturday morning was overpowered by passengers and kept under control until the plane could land. Brussels Airlines has confirmed the news.

The event took place on a flight from Brussels to Algiers which had a stopover in Toulouse. “The Frenchman next to me said that he wanted to cause the plane to crash. He said: ‘I’m going to go into the cockpit, grab the steering stick and make us crash.’ We thought he was joking,” passenger Peter Vanderdonckt told newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

“But shortly thereafter the man tried to get into the cockpit.” Two other Frenchmen on the flight managed to overpower the man.

Geert Sciot, a spokesperson for Brussels Airlines, confirmed the story. “The report from the chief officer on board says the man was psychologically disturbed. He told police that he ‘wanted to be closer to God.’ He could be sentenced to a maximum of a year in prison and a 1,000-euro fine,” says Sciot.

The man had no chance of getting into the cockpit, the spokesperson said.

Subject: Belgian news