Shenzhen Airlines Flight 9648 arson

The Shenzhen Airlines Flight 9648 arson refers to an arson attack that took place in the early hours of 26 July 2015 aboard Shenzhen Airlines flight ZH9648 (from Taizhou to Guangzhou, operated with an Airbus A320). At around 1 am on 26 July 2015, as Shenzhen Airlines flight ZH9648 was preparing to land at Baiyun Airport, a passenger twice walked from the economy class to the first class of the flight, set fires using gasoline and a lighter, and threatened other passengers with a knife; he was then subdued by the crew and other passengers on board. This incident seriously endangered flight safety, causing 2 minor injuries in total, and the suspect has been taken into custody by the police.

Mainland Chinese media described the incident as an "unlawful interference with a flight incident".

Course of the incident

On 25 July 2015, Shenzhen Airlines Flight 9648 (an Airbus A320) was scheduled to take off from Taizhou Luqiao Airport at 9:10 pm and arrive at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at around 11:25, but for some reason its take-off was delayed until 11:30; there were 95 passengers and 9 crew members on board. At 1:08 am on the 26th, as the flight was preparing to land at Baiyun Airport, a passenger walked from economy class to first class. A flight attendant then tried to dissuade him verbally, but had only said "Sir" when the passenger set a fire at a first-class seat, and the fire lasted for more than ten seconds. Before the cabin crew could step in to stop him, the passenger set fire to the first-class curtain. After a standoff between the two sides, the passenger took out a long knife of more than 20 cm and threatened other passengers. Because of the urgency of the situation, the crew announced an emergency landing, after which the cabin crew shouted to the passengers "Trust us, trust us, we are capable (of handling it). Don't panic, sit down, sit down". With less than 5 minutes to go before the aircraft landed, the man rushed into first class again and burned newspapers soaked in gasoline. During the incident, the suspect was subdued by the crew and other passengers on board; the crew issued a "Mayday" emergency distress signal, after which Baiyun Airport immediately carried out an emergency evacuation, and ambulance, fire and police services arrived on standby; after the aircraft landed safely on the third runway, the suspect was taken into custody by the police, and the two injured people were taken to hospital for treatment, one with an arm wound and the other with a sprained back. In addition, the suspect suffered a serious head injury when leaving the aircraft on the ground, and was later sent to the Guangzhou General Hospital of the Guangzhou Military Region for emergency treatment, his life being in danger.