Man storms cockpit before BA jumbo jet lands in Nairobi

Several passengers were slightly injured in the incident that occurred before the Boeing 747 landed safely in Nairobi at 7.10 a.m. The autopilot was disengaged during the struggle before the man was restrained. He was formally arrested on landing.

Passenger Benjamin Goldsmith told British Sky News television he thought the plane was going to crash.

"We were told four or five seconds more and the co-pilot wouldn't have been able to regain control. I don't think there was a single person on the plane who didn't think we were going to crash. There were grown men screaming," he said.

Five people were taken to hospital after the aircraft arrived at Nairobi. British Airways said the injuries were minor.

The jet had 379 passengers on board plus three flight crew and 16 cabin crew.

"A male passenger entered the flight deck and attempted to seize the flight controls. Flight crew struggled with the passenger during which the auto pilot became disengaged," a BA spokeswoman said.

"A number of passengers are believed to have suffered relatively minor injuries as the aircraft made sudden manoeuvres during the struggle," she said.

(kil/dpa)