03/11/2025
In February 2007, an Air Mauritania Boeing 737 was hijacked by a man with two pistols who wanted the flight diverted to France.
The captain realized the hijacker did not understand French. Using the plane’s public-address system, he quietly told passengers in French that he would brake hard on landing to throw the hijacker off balance and that people in the front rows should be ready to jump him. The crew and passengers followed the plan.
During the rough landing in Spain’s Canary Islands, the hijacker fell; flight attendants threw boiling water at him and several passengers piled on, allowing police to arrest him after the aircraft stopped. Dozens had minor injuries, but there were no serious casualties.
Ref: Wheird Facts
