Australian plane makes emergency landing after elderly passenger seizes controls

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian pilot made an emergency landing after wresting back the controls of his light aircraft from an 82-year-old passenger who grabbed them midflight, the aircraft's charter company said.

Police said the elderly man chartered the small four-seater Beechcraft Duchess plane on Monday for a business trip from the Sydney suburb of Bankstown to Cowra, a distance of about 186 kms (116 miles).

But he began acting erratically midway through the flight, moving to shut down the plane's engines and seizing the control stick, a spokesman for charter company Australia by Air told reporters.

The 23-year-old pilot restrained the passenger and made a distress call before safely landing the plane in a field, police said.

"The pilot displayed excellent airmanship and skill during the landing, and we thank him for his professionalism," the company said in a statement.

Police Inspector Mark Wall said the man was in stable condition in hospital in Sydney, with injuries to his face. The pilot was treated for shock and discharged.

It was not immediately clear what caused the elderly man to attempt to seize the plane. Police say they are investigating the incident.

(Reporting by Samantha Mountford; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

--http://news.yahoo.com

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一澳大利亚飞机紧急着陆，因一名82岁乘客试图控制飞机 

悉尼（路透社）—— 一家飞行租赁公司称，一名82岁的乘客在飞行途中控制了机上人员，而一名澳大利亚飞行员夺回了该小型飞机的控制权后，成功紧急着陆。

警方称这名男性乘客在周一租用了这架四座小型比奇飞机，为了从班克斯顿（Bankstown）的悉尼近郊到考拉（Cowra），距离大约为186公里的商务旅行。

飞机租赁公司Australia by Air的发言人称，这名男子在飞行中途开始行为异常，他关闭飞机的发动机，并控制了飞机的驾驶杆。

警方称，这名23岁的飞行员在使飞机安全着陆前，制止了这名男乘客的异常行为，并发送了遇险信号。

该飞机租赁公司在声明中说，“这名飞行员在这次迫降中，展示了出众的飞行素养和飞行技术，我们也十分感谢他的专业技能”。

警方称，这名飞行员除了脸部受轻伤外，身体状况稳定，在悉尼的一家医院接受心理治疗后出院了。

这名男乘客企图控制飞机的原因暂不清楚，警方称他们正在深入调查该事件。

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How crazy the old man is. And we ordinary people can hardly to understand his behaviors.

I just want to sigh the plane seems to be not as safe as we anticipated after several aircraft accidents. It is powerless indeed when something happened in the air. However, the plane is one of great inventions in the development of man's history. Besides, there are so many conveniences by air. After all, the negative aspects are minority.