British Airways Flight 2069

British Airways Flight 2069 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by British Airways between Gatwick Airport, England and Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Nairobi, Kenya. At 05:00 on 29 December 2000, a mentally ill passenger stormed the cockpit and attempted to hijack the aircraft. The Boeing 747-400 stalled in the struggle. Captain William Hagan and his crew were able to apprehend the assailant while first officer Phil Watson regained control of the aircraft, bringing the situation under control.

Incident

At around 05:00 local time, the cockpit of a British Airways Boeing 747-400 on a scheduled flight from Gatwick to Jomo Kenyatta Airport was stormed by a mentally unstable Kenyan passenger named Paul Mukonyi. Attacking First Officer Phil Watson over the controls, Mukonyi grabbed the yoke, and tried to take control of the plane and change its direction. This disconnected the autopilot and resulted in a struggle between himself and Watson, causing the aircraft to climb sharply and stall from 42,000 ft, falling towards the ground at 30,000 ft per minute. As Mukonyi and Watson fought for the controls, the struggle was joined by Captain Hagan who had gone for a rest break just before the attack. Hagan eventually succeeded in removing Mukonyi from the controls. Two passengers (basketball player Clarke Bynum and Gifford Murrell Shaw, both from Sumter, South Carolina, United States), who were sitting in the upper deck, were able to enter the cockpit to assist, despite the extreme manoeuvres, and helped to remove Mukonyi from the cockpit. Two flight attendants also ran into the cockpit to assist them. First Officer Watson was able to regain control, and returned the aircraft to level flight. Afterwards, Captain Hagan made an announcement on the PA to reassure the passengers and the flight continued without further incident. Violent pitch changes during the incident were responsible for minor injuries among four passengers; one of the cabin crew suffered an ankle fracture. After landing in Nairobi, Mukonyi was immediately transferred to the authorities. The actions right after the apprehension were recorded on amateur video by the son of English musician Bryan Ferry, who was a passenger on the flight. It was later found that Mukonyi was in fear of being followed, and was trying to kill those whom he deemed to be a threat, in this case the passengers and crew on the flight.