'Al-Qaeda hijacker' held in SA
23/01/2007 07:30  - (SA)  

Airport cops hold 'hijacker' Airport cops hold 'hijacker' 'Incident' on flight to SA 'Incident' on flight to SA Hijacker arrested at OR Tambo Hijacker arrested at OR Tambo Hijack: Cops 'had to dominate'

Annelene Moses, Schalk Mouton and Waldimar Pelser, Beeld

Johannesburg - A 26-year-old man who claimed to be a member of al-Qaeda on Monday night threatened on Monday night to blow up a plane during a flight to Johannesburg.

The drama began shortly after the Air Botswana plane took off from Gaborone Airport about 17:00 with 23 passengers and four crew on board.

Nicholas Mosenga, a Botswana businessman who was on the flight, told reporters passengers had been "terrified".

It was the second hijacking attempt in South African airspace in seven months.

"We had just taken off when the guy jumped up and loosened his belt. He had something in his hand that looked like a water bottle.

'Heading for disaster'

"He said if the water touched the lid, it would explode, and if we turned back to Botswana, then we would be heading for disaster," said Mosenga.

"Then he said: 'Get the reporters. I'm going out naked'."

Chris Hlekane, general manger of the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) at Johannesburg's OR Tambo Airport, told reporters that during the flight the man had claimed to be a member of al-Qaeda.

The man apparently was black and spoke English.

Mosenga said he "didn't look like an al-Qaeda member".

Banged on cockpit door

The pilot contacted the airport control tower after the man began banging on the cockpit door, demanding access.

According to police spokesperson Vish Naidoo, he never demanded that the plane should change course, but he did have "two hand-sizes objects with him".

Asked if these looked like handgrenades, he said: "To the man in the street it might look like something dangerous."

Although police did not say what these objects were, according to Naidoo, "at no stage was there any danger".

"He also never gained access to the locked cockpit."

It was not known if any passengers tried to tackle the man.

'Unruly passenger'

At about 17:45, Acsa got a message that there was an "unruly passenger" on board the flight (BP201) and immediately contacted the airport police.

The police's special task team was also "ready to be mobilised, but it was not neccessary", said Naidoo.

When flight BP201 landed at OR Tambo at 18:10 - 10 minutes later than scheduled - police were standing on the tarmac, and the man "saw he was surrounded", said Naidoo.

When the plane stopped in a secure area far from the terminal, the man insisted on speaking to a police officer.

When police boarded the plane, the man was tackled and arrested.

Trauma counselling

None of the 23 passengers had been hurt, but they would receive trauma counselling, said Hlekane.

Family members, who waited in an Acsa conference room for news, were also consoled and kept up to date throughout, he said.