Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Highjacker

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A knife-wielding woman stormed the cockpit of a New Zealand domestic flight Friday, stabbed both pilots and threatened to blow up the plane before she was subdued, police said.

The Air National flight landed safetly at Christchurch in southern New Zealand and the 33-year-old woman was arrested, police said. None of the seven passengers were injured, but the pilot suffered a severely cut hand in the attack and the co-pilot was injured on the foot.

Police did not say who restrained the woman aboard the flight.

The flight took off from the regional city of Blenheim, 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital of Wellington, bound for the tourist city of Christchurch, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of the capital.

Christchurch police commander Dave Cliff said the woman _ a Blenheim resident but originally from Somalia _ entered the cockpit and attacked the pilots before being restrained. She had said there was a bomb on board, Cliff said.

An army bomb disposal team conducted an initial search of the twin propeller Jetstream plane and found no explosives, Cliff said.

The passengers included four New Zealanders, an Australian and an Indian national. One passenger suffered a minor hand injury when the plane was evacuated on landing, shortly after 8:00 a.m. (1900 GMT).

Emergency vehicles surrounded the aircraft on the tarmac and the airport was closed to incoming and outgoing flights. The airport was reopened after about three hours.

Air New Zealand general manager of short haul airlines, Bruce Parton, said the airline was reviewing its security procedures.

“Today’s incident, although a one-off, has naturally given us cause to conduct a thorough review of our safety and security systems and processes on regional domestic flights,” Parton said.

Passengers boarding short haul flights at New Zealand airports do not routinely pass through security screening.

(AP)