China has launched a probe into the attempts by a man to set fire a plane with more than 100 people on board, as details emerged that the passenger also carried a sword with which he attacked his co-travellers.
Civil aviation police said passengers and crew thwarted the attempted arson attack on the flight that had more than 100 people on board. Two passengers suffered slight injuries.
The Shenzhen Airlines flight ZH9648 from Taizhou City to Guangzhou near Hong Kong carried 95 passengers and six crew. The incident took place minutes before its landing yesterday.
While the government has not released any details, a passenger named Huang Caihong told the Qianjiang Evening News that "four of us narrowly escaped death."
The 46-year-old was with her 10-year-old daughter, her sister and her sister's four-year-old granddaughter. Huang said the suspect was a man aged 40 to 50.
There is no word about his identity.
A state television report said the man shouted "he wanted to die, did not want to live."
"He lit the newspapers but the fire was put off by cabin crew," Huang told the newspaper.
Later brandishing a knife, he then walked back to the economy section, warning everyone not to move, she said, but two male stewards forced him to stop and some passengers blocked his way with luggage.
The man then went back to first class and tried to set another fire, she said.
"The cabin was engulfed with choking smoke," Huang said.
"Fortunately, the plane soon landed. If we had stayed in cabin for another five to six minutes, we could all have died," she said.
The man jumped out of an open door, she said, while others left via the evacuation slide.
"We weren't allowed to go home. Instead, police who were waiting for us in the airport questioned every one of us. I returned home about 7am (local time)," she said.
According to an online report, the suspect hit his head on the ground when he jumped from the plane and was receiving medical treatment.
Lighters and lethal items like swords are banned in Chinese airlines following attempts in the past by Uyghur militants from Xinjiang to cause violence in planes.
