Crew 19 Survivors 398 (all) | Passengers 379 Injuries (non-fatal) 4 Date 29 December 2000 Fatalities 0 | |
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Similar Philippine Airlines Flight 812, Aerocaribe Flight 7831, 2000 Australia Beechcra, Hapag‑Lloyd Flight 3378, Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 | ||
British airways flight 2069
British Airways Flight 2069 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by British Airways between Gatwick, England and Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Nairobi, Kenya. At 5 am on 29 December 2000, a mentally ill passenger stormed the cockpit and attempted to hijack the aircraft. Captain William Hagan and his crew were able to apprehend the assailant while first officer Phil Watson regained control of the aircraft, quickly bringing the situation under control.
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Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a British Airways Boeing 747-436, registered in the United Kingdom as G-BNLM.
Incident
Around 5 am local time, the cockpit of a Boeing 747-400 on a British Airways scheduled flight from Gatwick to Jomo Kenyatta Airport was stormed by a mentally unstable Kenyan passenger named Paul Mukonyi. Grabbing the yoke, he tried to execute a route change, which resulted in a struggle between him and First Officer Phil Watson that caused the aircraft to stall and plunge towards the earth. This struggle was joined by Captain Hagan, who had gone for a rest break just before the attack. Two passengers in the upper deck were able to assist in wrestling Mukonyi from the yoke. Violent pitch changes were responsible for minor injuries among four passengers; one of the stewardesses broke her ankle. After landing in Nairobi, Mukonyi was transferred to the authorities. The actions right after the apprehension were recorded on a video camera by the son of the English singer Bryan Ferry; both were passengers on the flight. Mukonyi was in fear of being followed and was trying to kill those whom he deemed to be a threat, i.e. the entire complement of passengers and crew.
Awards
Captain William Hagan and First Officers Phil Watson and Richard Webb were awarded a Polaris Award in 2001. Hagan was also given the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (RADAR) People of the Year award.
Consequences
A group of 16 American passengers settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against British Airways. British passengers were offered compensation of £2,000 and a free ticket each. The actual compensation package from BA for British passengers included the cash amount of £2,000, free attendance on a "Fear of Flying" course at Birmingham airport, and a free ticket to anywhere in the world on the BA network. In 2013 a small group of British passengers attempted to bring a lawsuit against BA, but a legal case could not be made and their efforts came to nought.