Officials close airport after arson bid
Print Edition
TAIZHOU airport was ordered to cease operations yesterday and rectify “severe safety risks” identified following an arson attempt on a flight from the city in east China’s Zhejiang Province.
The incident led to the sacking of the city’s civil aviation chief Yang Youde and his deputy Lu Qichen. Also dismissed were the airport’s security checkpoint director, vice director and the inspectors who let the suspect pass through, though he is reported to have had gas, lighter and a knife in his possession, according to a report in Xinhua Daily.
Zhai Jinshun, a Taizhou native in his 50s, is alleged to have tried to light a fire, but his attempt was thwarted by cabin crew and two passengers.
When Shenzhen Airlines flight ZH9648, with more than 100 people on board, landed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou early on Sunday morning, the suspect jumped out of an open door while nine crew members and 97 passengers left via an evacuation slide.
Zhai, who was injured when he jumped, is now in police custody. No details of his injuries were released.
China Central Television quoted a passenger as saying a man with a knife lit a curtain and newspapers in the first-class cabin. The fire filled the cabin with heavy smoke. Other reports said gasoline was used.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China yesterday praised the actions of cabin crew and two passengers, awarding the crew 300,000 yuan (US$48,330) and the two passengers 30,000 yuan each.
The pilot safely landed the plane, flight attendants calmed down passengers, maintained cabin order and asked for assistance in time, the administration said.
Security personnel fulfilled their duty to overpower the suspect, and two passengers bravely stepped forward to offer a hand, it said.
The eastern branch of the CAAC made the suspension order yesterday morning and said it was sending a work group to supervise airport management.
The administration has asked all its branches to conduct checks at medium-sized, small and new airports in their areas.
According to a report in the National Business Daily, Taizhou airport, which opened in 1987, had been criticized for making security checks “a mere formality.”
A passenger surnamed Zhang told the newspaper he had taken flights from Taizhou seven or eight times, but every time he felt security was lax.
“There were just very few security inspectors. It felt like that I was at a metro station or bus station security checkpoint.”
According to The Beijing News, Zhai had opened a factory to make aluminum windows and doors last September. But instead of making a fortune, he owed the bank 700,000 to 800,000 yuan.
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