Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    A KNIFE-WIELDING man was fought by passengers and crew while he set at least one fire during a flight into Guangzhou on Sunday, according to information provided by a passenger to Shenzhen Daily.

    In a phone interview yesterday Zhang Xuemei, a native of Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, described terror during the last 20 minutes of the Taizhou to Guangzhou flight as Zhai Jinshun held a knife while using gasoline and a lighter to set fire on the airplane.

    “The maniac was running towards the economy class, holding a knife, after his first attempt to set fire in the business class,” said Zhang, a passenger who stood up to Zhai during his rampage. “My palm was slashed by Zhai when I tried to make him give up.”

    Zhang, originally from Yuhuan County, Taizhou City, is a frequent flyer between Taizhou and Guangzhou, where he runs an electric equipment company called Guangzhou Bedford.

    Twenty minutes before the flight was supposed to land at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Zhang noticed Zhai pacing the cabin with a female flight attendant following him. Most passengers didn’t notice Zhai, said Zhang.

    “The man trotted to the front seat of the economy area and bent down to prepare something,” said Zhang. “When the flight attendant saw what the man was doing, she quickly came to the back and called for her colleagues to help,” said Zhang.

    By the time a male flight attendant arrived, Zhai had used gasoline and a lighter to set fire to the two curtains separating the economy class and the business class. The cabin was filled with smoke and the smell of gasoline, said Zhang.

    A male flight attendant put out the fire with a fire extinguisher before spraying the extinguisher at Zhai’s eyes. Zhai retreated from the business-class area into the economy area where passengers began throwing their luggage at Zhai.

    Zhai then went into the economy area when he used a knife to slash Zhang across the left hand. He then went back to the business class and apparently tried to set a second fire.

    Chinese State media reported that the pilot issued a mayday call and the plane was guided into the Guangzhou airport around 1 a.m. Sunday.

    The airport evacuated 95 passengers and nine crew members after the plane landed. Zhang and an old woman, who broke multiple bones during a slide evacuation, were sent to a nearby hospital.