Air New Zealand Flight 2279

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Air New Zealand Flight 2279
ZK-ECN.jpg
British Aerospace Jetstream 32EP ZK-ECN
Hijacking
Date8 February 2008
SummaryAttempted hijacking
Site Christchurch International Airport, Christchurch, New Zealand
Aircraft
Aircraft type British Aerospace Jetstream
Operator Air National on behalf of Eagle Airways for Air New Zealand
Registration ZK-ECN
Flight origin Woodbourne Airport, Blenheim, New Zealand
Destination Christchurch International Airport, Christchurch, New Zealand
Passengers7 (including hijacker)
Crew2
Fatalities0
Injuries3
Survivors9

Air New Zealand Flight 2279 (also known as Eagle Airways Flight 2279) was a commuter flight operated by Air National on behalf of Eagle Airways, a regional carrier division of Air New Zealand. [1] The flight was the subject of an unsuccessful hijack attempt on 8 February 2008 during which both pilots and a passenger suffered knife wounds.

Contents

Incident

Ten minutes after takeoff from Woodbourne Airport in Blenheim, at about 7:40 a.m., [2] Asha Ali Abdille attacked both of the pilots and demanded the plane be flown to Australia. One pilot was cut in the arm, the other in the leg. Abdille also tried to wrestle the controls from the pilot. There were six other passengers (four New Zealanders, one Australian and one Indian) on board. One female passenger was also injured. The copilot managed to restrain Abdille eventually. Abdille also claimed to have two bombs on board, but no explosives were found. [3] The plane landed safely at Christchurch International Airport at 8:06 a.m. [2]

Hijacker

Asha Ali Abdille, a 33-year-old living in Blenheim, New Zealand, originally a refugee from Somalia, was arrested after the plane landed. [4]

There were fears among the New Zealand Somali community that they would be branded terrorists. The government quickly stated "the government will not tolerate any racial or religious intolerance". [4]

Abdille moved to New Zealand in 1994. [5] TVNZ did an interview with her in 1996, during which she said she was not coping with New Zealand society, and would like to go back to Somalia. [6]

On 1 March 2005, the then-Immigration Minister Paul Swain was questioned in Parliament regarding unrelated incidents whether he was confident that Abdille "is not a threat to the New Zealand community". The minister answered in the affirmative. [7]

Trial

Abdille was charged with one count of attempted hijacking, one count of wounding one of the pilots with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and two counts of injuring with intent. She was remanded for a psychiatric report. [8]

On 22 February 2008, Abdille was charged in the Christchurch District Court with a further 11 charges, including threatening to kill, possessing an offensive weapon, and taking a dangerous weapon onto an aircraft. At her trial in 2010 where she was represented by prominent human rights and criminal Barrister Antony Shaw, Abdille pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to hijack an aircraft, and was sentenced to 9 years in jail. [9] [10] [11]

Impact

Christchurch International Airport was evacuated after the incident. Among those caught up were Transport Minister Annette King, Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven and the England Cricket Team. [12] This incident prompted a review of aviation security in New Zealand. Released on 23 April 2009, it found domestic flights of fewer than 90 seats with unscreened passengers and carry-on baggage were a high-risk situation. [13] As of 2022, there has been no change and domestic flights of fewer than 90 seats continue to be unscreened. [14]

Related Research Articles

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christchurch Airport</span> Airport in Christchurch, New Zealand

Christchurch Airport is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 May 1940 and became New Zealand's first international airport on 16 December 1950. It is the third busiest airport in New Zealand, after Auckland and Wellington by annual passengers, and the second busiest, after Auckland, by aircraft movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Airport (New Zealand)</span> Airport in the Waikato Region of New Zealand

Hamilton Airport is an airport located 14 kilometres south of the city of Hamilton in the Waikato region, in New Zealand. It is sited at Rukuhia, which was the name of the Royal New Zealand Air Force base on that site during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysian Airline System Flight 653</span> 1977 aviation hijacking

Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 (MH653) was a scheduled domestic flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, operated by Malaysian Airline System (MAS). On the evening of 4 December 1977, the Boeing 737-200 aircraft flying the service crashed at Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, while purportedly being diverted by hijackers to Singapore. It was the first fatal air crash for Malaysia Airlines, with all 93 passengers and 7 crew killed. It is also the deadliest aviation disaster to occur on Malaysian soil. The flight was apparently hijacked as soon as it reached cruise altitude. The circumstances in which the hijacking and subsequent crash occurred remain unsolved.

Air Nelson was a regional airline based in Nelson, New Zealand. It was founded as an independent airline in 1979. Air New Zealand took a 50% shareholding in 1988 and 100% ownership in 1995. Air Nelson operated services on provincial routes under the Air New Zealand Link brand.

Air National was an airline based in Auckland, New Zealand. It operated domestic and international charter services and scheduled passenger services for Air New Zealand Link. Its main bases were Auckland International Airport

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle Airways</span> Regional airline in New Zealand

Eagle Airways was a regional airline based in Hamilton, New Zealand and was wholly owned by Air New Zealand, operating regional services under the Air New Zealand Link brand. The airline was disbanded on 26 August 2016, with staff absorbed into Air New Zealand's other subsidiaries.

Mount Cook Airline was a regional airline based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Formerly part of the Mount Cook Group and latterly a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, it operated scheduled services throughout the country under the Air New Zealand Link brand. In December 2019, the brand name was retired with all services operated under the Air New Zealand banner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lufthansa Flight 181</span> 1977 aircraft hijacking

Lufthansa Flight 181 was a Boeing 737-230C jetliner named the Landshut that was hijacked on 13 October 1977 by four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who called themselves Commando Martyr Halima. The objective of the hijacking was to secure the release of imprisoned Red Army Faction leaders in German prisons. In the early hours of 18 October, just after midnight, the West German counter-terrorism group GSG 9, backed by the Somali Armed Forces, stormed the aircraft in Mogadishu, Somalia, with 86 passengers and four of the total five crew rescued. The rescue operation was codenamed Feuerzauber. The hijacking is considered to be part of the German Autumn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sounds Air</span> New Zealand airline

Sounds Air is a New Zealand airline based at Picton. The airline was founded in 1986 by Cliff and Diane Marchant to provide low cost flights to the Marlborough Sounds. The airline has a maintenance facility at Omaka aerodrome with its Sounds Aero Maintenance division based there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabena Flight 571</span> 1972 aircraft hijacking in Lod, Israel

Sabena Flight 571 was a scheduled passenger flight from Brussels to Lod via Vienna operated by the Belgian national airline, Sabena. On 8 May 1972 a Boeing 707 passenger aircraft operating that service, captained by British pilot Reginald Levy, DFC, was hijacked by four members of the Black September Organization, a Palestinian terrorist group. Following their instructions, Captain Levy landed the plane at Lod Airport. The hijackers demanded that Israel release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages. The standoff was ended by an Israeli commando raid in which all of the hijackers were killed or captured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodbourne Airport</span> Airport in Blenheim, New Zealand

Woodbourne Airport trading as Marlborough Airport is a small, controlled airport located 8 km west of Blenheim in the Marlborough region of New Zealand, on State Highway 6, Middle Renwick Road. It is co-located with RNZAF Base Woodbourne in the Wairau Valley on the north-eastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The airport has a single terminal and 7 tarmac gates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapiti Coast Airport</span> Airport in Paraparaumu, Greater Wellington region

Kapiti Coast Airport, also spelt Kāpiti Coast Airport and previously called Paraparaumu Airport, is on the Kāpiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island, between the Wellington dormitory suburbs of Paraparaumu Beach, Paraparaumu to the east, and Raumati Beach to the south. The Wharemauku Stream flows through part of the airport's land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Airways of New Zealand</span>

Union Airways of New Zealand Limited was New Zealand's first major airline. It was founded in 1935 by local shipping giant Union Company. Its services reached main centres from Auckland to Dunedin and extended to Gisborne and the West Coast of the South Island. Union Airways was instrumental in the establishment of Australian National Airways and TEAL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Airlines Flight 11</span> Domestic passenger flight hijacked as part of September 11 attacks; crashed into North Tower of WTC

American Airlines Flight 11 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijacked airliner was deliberately crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in New York City, killing everyone aboard the flight and ensuring the deaths of well over a thousand people in the upper levels of the skyscraper in addition to causing the demise of numerous others below the trapped floors, making it not only the deadliest of the four suicide attacks executed that morning in terms of both plane and ground fatalities, but also the single deadliest act of terrorism in human history and the deadliest plane crash of all time. The aircraft involved, a Boeing 767-223ER with 92 passengers and crew, was flying American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental service from Logan International Airport in Massachusetts to Los Angeles International Airport in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CanJet Flight 918</span> 2009 attempted airliner hijacking

CanJet Flight 918 was a flight that was on 19 April 2009 to have taken off from Sangster International Airport (MBJ), Montego Bay, Jamaica, bound for Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), Halifax, Canada, but was instead seized before takeoff for hours by an armed, lone hijacker. This was likely the third incidence of a hijacking on Jamaican soil, and the second time a Canadian airliner has been hijacked. The first likely hijacking from Jamaica occurred 21 March 1972 when a Jamaica Air Taxi charter Cessna owned by Rudy Mantel and piloted by Marsh Greene was hijacked from Montego Bay Sangster International Airport to Manzanillo Cuba by two U.S. citizens. The second hijacking was a thwarted attempt on 3 January 1974, aboard an Air Jamaica flight at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

Air Safaris is a New Zealand scenic flight and air charter company based at the Lake Tekapo Airport located 2.8 km west of the town of Lake Tekapo, off State Highway 8 in the Mackenzie District of New Zealand. The airline operates from 5 bases: Tekapo, Franz Josef, Glentanner, Twizel and Mt Cook airports. The company logo is a stylised chamois; these are wild goat-like antelope which inhabits the region of the South Island High Country.

References

  1. ↑ "Second pilot released from hospital after hijack attempt". Radio New Zealand. 10 February 2008. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Captain thankful of co-pilot's skills during mid-air drama". Fairfax New Zealand. 9 February 2008. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
  3. ↑ "NZ hijacker 'known to police'". ABC News . 8 February 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  4. 1 2 "Minister reassures Somali community". Scoop. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  5. ↑ "Update: African woman held in NZ hijack". Bangkok Post . Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  6. ↑ "Close Up on 8 February". Television New Zealand. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  7. ↑ Hansard 1 March 2005
  8. ↑ Hartevelt, John (9 February 2008). "Hijack accused to get psychiatric evaluation". Fairfax New Zealand. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  9. ↑ Abdille trial begins today, archived from the original on 28 September 2011, retrieved 28 June 2010
  10. ↑ Martin van Beynen (14 July 2010). "Blenheim woman admits hijacking". The Press . Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  11. ↑ "Plane hijacker jailed for nine years". Television New Zealand . 27 August 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  12. ↑ "Pilots stabbed in New Zealand plane hijack attempt". Channel 4. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  13. ↑ "Domestic flight prices may rise as security beefed up". The New Zealand Herald. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  14. ↑ "Tourist fears and 15 March 'front of mind' in airport security review". NZ Herald. NZME. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
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