TWO officials have been sacked and an airport taken out of operation in eastern Zhejiang Province after an arson attempt injured two passengers on a flight, local authorities said yesterday.
The director and vice director of the civil aviation administration of Taizhou City have been removed from their posts over the incident on Shenzhen Airlines flight ZH9648, the municipal government of Taizhou said.
A man was subdued by crew and fellow passengers after trying to light a fire on the flight from Taizhou, as it was landing in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangdong Province early Sunday morning.
China Central Television quoted a passenger as saying a man with a knife had set a curtain and newspapers on fire in the cabin. The fire filled the cabin with heavy smoke. Other reports said gasoline was used.
The flight was carrying over 100 passengers and crew. All of them were evacuated after emergency landing.
The incident has prompted questions how the arsonist managed to bring a knife, lighter and gasoline onto the plane.
The eastern branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) asked the Taizhou airport to suspend operations starting yesterday, citing civil aviation regulations, and will send a work group to supervise the airport’s management.
The airport’s chief and vice chief security officers, along with security staff responsible for checking luggage for that flight, were all sacked.
The CAAC asked branches across the country to conduct safety checks on medium-sized, small and new airports after the incident.
Also yesterday, the bravery of the Shenzhen Airlines crew was recognized with a shared award of 300,000 yuan (US$48,330) by the CAAC.
Two passengers who tried to stop the attacker were each awarded 30,000 yuan.(Xinhua)
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