Passengers subdue chaotic man on board Turkish Airlines jet
Passengers on a Turkish Airlines jetliner flying to Sudan
had to subdue a man who started screaming a few minutes after takeoff and began
smashing at an oxygen mask box and then a cabin window, before pushing flight
attendants aside and rushing toward the cockpit.
Associated Press photographer Hussein Malla was on the
flight Friday and says several passengers stopped the man in the Boeing
737-900?s business class section. Flight attendants calmed the man down after
about 15 minutes and he was taken back to a seat as the plane continued toward
Khartoum. Flight attendants said the man was complaining about not being able
to breathe.
After about 2.5 hours, the pilots announced the plane was
returning to Istanbul. A few minutes later, the man suddenly stood up and
headed toward the front of the plane, where others grabbed him and tried to
shackle him with plastic restraints provided by flight attendants but he
resisted.
Passengers were yelling in fear and children were crying.
The plane landed back in Istanbul about three hours after it
took off and police escorted the man off. As he departed, he shook hands with
some passengers and kissed children.
The airline and police did not immediately respond to AP
requests for comment.
There was no immediate word on where the man was taken. His
identity was not released, although he appeared to be Sudanese.