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Eagle Airways Flight 2279

8 Feb 2008 · Christchurch International Airport, Christchurch, New Zealand

Air National on behalf of Eagle Airways for Air New Zealand Link British Aerospace Jetstream · Attempted hijacking

From Woodbourne Airport (BHE) to Christchurch International Airport (CHC)

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Event

Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Occurrence
Event fatalities
0 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
9
Survivors
9
InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
3
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Airline

British Aerospace Jetstream

Category
Airplane · from aircraft type
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
ZK-ECN
Onboard fatalities
0
Route
From Woodbourne Airport (BHE)To Christchurch International Airport (CHC)

Approximate · Estimated position: Christchurch International Airport, the airport the Wikipedia article names as the site. Where on or near it is not known.

From the Wikipedia article

Eagle Airways Flight 2279 was a commuter flight operated by Air National on behalf of Eagle Airways. The flight was the subject of an unsuccessful hijack attempt on 8 February 2008 during which both pilots and a passenger suffered knife wounds.

Incident

Ten minutes after takeoff from Woodbourne Airport in Blenheim, at about 7:40 a.m. (NZDT), Asha Ali Abdille attacked both of the pilots and demanded the plane be flown to Australia. One pilot was cut in the arm, the other in the leg. Abdille also tried to wrestle the controls from the pilot. There were six other passengers (four New Zealanders, one Australian and one Indian) on board. One female passenger was also injured. The copilot managed to restrain Abdille eventually. Abdille also claimed to have two bombs on board, but no explosives were found. The plane landed safely at Christchurch International Airport at 8:06 a.m.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Eagle Airways Flight 2279” (revision 1358214326, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article

Sources

Wikipedia article: Eagle Airways Flight 2279
Article
Eagle Airways Flight 2279
Revision
1358214326 · 2026-06-07 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q5325012
Licence
Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
Record
Wikipedia article "Eagle Airways Flight 2279" (page 15651617, revision 1358214326)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
airport the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata code, OurAirports)
Aircraft, operator and route
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation
flight number in the article title
Fatalities
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities
not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary
Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
  • Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.