Bangla jet lands after man pulls out knife

Bangkok, April 8: A Bangladeshi airliner plane made an emergency landing on Tuesday in Bangkok after a man pulled out a knife during the flight and caused panic among passengers, the police and airport officials said.

There were no injuries aboard the GMG Airlines flight, which was carrying about 70 passengers from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, said the police Lt. Gen. Watcharapol Prasanrachakij.

Thai authorities boarded the plane on the tarmac at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport and removed the passenger, who was identified as a Bangladeshi citizen.

The police and airport officials gave different accounts of what happened inside the plane.

According to the police who questioned the man, he brandished a 10-centimetre (4-inch) knife and threatened to hurt other passengers, Mr Prasanrachakij said. The head of the Airports of Thailand, Chana Yoosataporn, told reporters that the man pulled out the knife "to show other passengers" and cabin crew alerted the pilot after panic spread.

Mr Chana Yoosataporn denied an earlier statement from an AOT spokesperson that a fight had broken out aboard the plane.

The plane continued to its destination after a few hours delay in Bangkok.

The man was being flown home on a separate flight and would be turned over to Bangladeshi authorities, the police said. Airport authorities had initially identified the airline as national carrier Bangladesh Airlines but later said it was GMG, a low-cost Bangladeshi airline. (AP)

***

Air Force jet crashes, one killed

Dhaka, April 8: The police said a Bangladesh Air Force training jet has crashed into a banana plantation, killing at least one pilot.

Police officer Mehedi Hassan said over mobile telephone from the scene that the accident happened on Tuesday in Tangail district, 72 km north of the capital of Dhaka. (AP)