Words No Pilot Wants To Hear: "Take Me To Maputo"

Take this plane to Maputo. That's the message a 21-year-old Zimbabwean national and student at the University of Cape Town had for the pilots of a South African Airways (SAA) flight he tried to hijack Saturday.

The would-be hijacker tried to gain entry into the cockpit, in an attempt to divert the plane to Mozambique's capital. Media reports from the area say the man stabbed an off-duty pilot in the hand with a hypodermic needle before the pilot and two other passengers tackled and subdued him.

The hijack drama began about 35 minutes after South African Flight 322 took-off from Cape Town International Airport at 09:40 am headed for Johannesburg. After the incident, the flight returned to Cape Town where police stormed aboard and apprehended the suspect.

Cape Town photographer Roger Sedres, 37, was seated next to the suspected hijacker. He said the well-dressed, bespectacled man had acted strangely from the time he boarded.

"He kept on fiddling with his phone and putting his hand in his pockets," Sedres said. "He did not say a word or greet me."

Sedres knew immediately an attempted hijacking was in progress when the man suddenly got up from his row 22 aisle seat, walked towards the front of the plane and grabbed a flight attendant.

The man, who has so far only been identified as "Tinashe" or "Tanish," was immediately tackled and subdued. Witnesses say the entire incident lasted five minutes.

South African police have ruled out any links to terror groups and now believe the man has history of mental illness.

While airport screening lapses were immediately called into question, none were immediately evident. Deidre Hendricks, a spokesperson for Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), said syringes are allowed onboard South African flights for health reasons. ACSA is responsible for the security screening of passengers on SAA flights.

The last time South Africa had an aircraft hijacking was in 1972, when an SAA Boeing 727 was hijacked en route from Durban to Johannesburg. Two hijackers finally surrendered at Chileka Airport in Malawi.

However, South African officials are concerned Saturday's attempted hijacking will further harm the reputation of South African airports. "[Our] airports, unfortunately, have in recent months earned a less than favorable reputation for lost and stolen luggage, while a number of daring robberies have taken place," Democratic Alliance transport spokesman Stuart Farrow told Independent News & Media on Sunday.

"South Africa will host the Soccer World Cup in 2010," Farrow added, "and we need to show the world that our airspace and our planes are safe and secure."

SAA has not issued a statement about the ill-fated flight.

FMI: www.flysaa.com