Brazilian plane forced to land after pilot attacked

PA

A Brazilian passenger plane was forced to land after a man suffering a "psychotic attack" broke into the cockpit and assaulted a pilot.

The man was flying on the TAM Airlines jet from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Sao Paulo, when he became disturbed and attacked the pilot, as well as crew members and passengers who tried to subdue him.

According to news.com.au, the man entered the cockpit through an open door, the plane then took a dip to the right, causing passengers to scream in panic, and the pilot to ask for help over the PA system.

One passenger told Uruguay's El Pais newspaper: "All of a sudden shouts were heard from inside the cabin, and two stewardesses came out asking for help and grabbing a young man by his feet,"
"The people quickly jumped on top of him, the guy fought back furiously, biting and hurting a half dozen people.

"In a kind of collective action they were able to immobilise him, tying him to a seat.''

The plane landed safely at the Porto Alegro airport in Brazil about 20 minutes after the incident.

It has not been confirmed whether the man was a TAM employee or a passenger, but it took the group of crew members and passengers around 10 minutes to get him under control, according to the Huffington Post.

Matias Velazco, a former journalist for El Observador, told the paper. "Four of them tried to hold him down and they couldn't. One tried to give him an injection to sedate him, another hit him and still they couldn't control him."

Federal police subdued the man again after he became violent while being taken into custody, and he was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.


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