Incident Overview

Description
The B737 aircraft was on a charter flight for LTU from Tenerife, when a 38-year-old man, whose motive was unknown, attacked the pilot-in-command. The perpetrator allegedly forced his way into the cockpit while the aircraft was still in Spanish airspace and began attacking the pilot. He tried to reach switches and levers in the cockpit and threatened to kill all occupants including the crew. The autopilot switched off and the contact with ATC was lost. The aircraft climbed to FL400 and descended back to FL365 while the first officer tried to maintain control of the aircraft. With the assistance of some male passengers, the aggressor was pulled out of the cockpit and strapped in a passenger seat. The pilot was injured. The flight continued to Berlin where the unruly passenger was arrested by the police.
Primary Cause
Unruly passenger behavior and potential aggression.Unruly passenger behavior and potential aggression.Share on: