Geoffs Rant. A British Airways pilot has come forward after 14 years with this story in light of the missing Malaysian aircraft,his courage and conviction saved the lives of 398 passengers. A BRITISH Airways pilot who fought off a “maniac” attempting to hijack his plane 14 years ago has revealed how the fate of Flight MH370 has brought back the horrific details of that fateful encounter. Here is Captain Bill Hagan’s story of that dramatic event. I was asleep in my bunk when I was jolted awake by the sudden lurching of the plane, British Airways flight BA2069 from Gatwick to Kenya. I knew there was something seriously wrong but I thought maybe the aircraft had been damaged. It was only when I heard my co-pilot shouting for help and opened the door that I saw there was an intruder. He looked like a terrorist. I knew we were all in grave danger as he had seized the controls and we were plummeting at full speed towards the ground. I was responsible for the plane and I didn’t want to let people down. If I had considered it necessary to kill him to save everyone else on board, I would have. My wife and two of my children were on the flight, as were singer Bryan Ferry and five members of the Goldsmith family. I didn’t speak — I just punched the man hard and managed to pull his body back just enough to make the plane pitch up from its dive. The week before I had been speaking to my young son about how to survive a shark attack, by sticking your finger in its eye, and that gave me the inspiration to do that to the intruder. After I had gouged his eye he came away from the controls to fight me, allowing the copilot to stabilise the aircraft. I owe a lot to the quick actions of the co-pilot. I shouted loudly for help and three male passengers rushed to my aid. They grabbed the hijacker — who I later learned was a 27-year-old mentally ill Kenyan student called Paul Kefa Mukonyi — and dragged him to the back of the plane and tied him up. If he had been at the controls for just a few extra seconds we could all have died. The plane stalled three times, nearly went upside down and was plummeting to the ground. While I was still catching my breath I made an announcement to reassure the 398 passengers on board that it was over. I forgot about any rule book and just said: ‘A bad man has tried to kill us all, but everything is fine now.’ The plight of the Malaysia Airlines flight has brought the horror of that day, December 29, 2000, flooding back to me. If there was an explosion, debris would have been spotted by now. I believe this must have been a deliberate and planned act.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 09:48:00 +0000
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