The 21-year-old student who allegedly tried to force his way into the cockpit of a South African Airways (SAA) aircraft with a hypodermic needle on a flight from Cape Town on Saturday is to appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s court on Monday, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported.
Police spokesperson Inspector Bernadine Steyn said the man will face charges for the attempted hijacking of an aircraft and for assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The man, a Zimbabwean student at the University of Cape Town, apparently wanted to divert the plane to Maputo.
Cape Town resident Yunus Ismail told the Mail & Guardian Online on Saturday night he was sitting in his business class seat when he saw the student walking towards the cockpit with an air hostess.
”He shouted, ‘If you don’t open the door I’ll kill her,”’ Ismail said.
”Three of us jump up … we got such a fright … and then they cuffed him,” he said.
The plane then flew back to Cape Town and a police task force stormed the plane and arrested the suspect. Passengers were instructed to put their hands on their heads.
Ismail said one passenger had been struck in the face by a member of the task force.
The Sunday Times quoted Cape Town photographer Roger Sedres (37), who was seated next to the suspected hijacker, as saying he was well-dressed and had acted strangely from the time he boarded.
”He kept on fiddling with his phone and putting his hand in his pockets. He did not say a word or greet me.”
Sedres told the paper he had immediately known an attempted hijacking was in progress when, about 35 minutes into the flight, the man suddenly got up from his aisle seat, walked about 20m towards the front of the plane and grabbed an air hostess.
”He said something but I couldn’t hear what he was saying,” he told the paper.
The man was then immediately tackled and handcuffed by a group of passengers, including an off-duty pilot. – Sapa