Man attempts to rush cockpit in flight

A man suspected of being mentally disabled attempted to rush into the cockpit of a Grand China Air jet traveling from Beijing to Yinchuan on Saturday, an official from the HNA Group - the company that owns Grand China Air - confirmed to the Global Times Sunday.

During flight CN7233 an "abnormal" male passenger interrupted other passengers and crew members many times, an official surnamed Cai from another division of the group, Hainan Airlines, who is responsible for investigating the issue, told the Global Times on Sunday.

A Weibo post from kongjie.com, a website dedicated to flights and air attendants, said on Sunday that the passenger attempted to beat crew members and rushed into the cockpit, and that five crew members and one member of security staff were injured. But Cai disagreed. "No one was injured. The security staff had physical contact with the man," he said.

Cai refused to comment on whether crew were attacked, but said the passenger tried to rush into "sensitive areas" of the flight twice, adding that the "sensitive areas" included the cockpit.

Security staff aboard the plane subdued the man and he was transferred to police custody at Yinchuan airport in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region after the flight landed.

A police officer at Hedong Airport in Yinchuan told the Global Times on Sunday that the passenger was transferred to the airport police, but refused to reveal more details. Airport police told the Legal Mirror on Sunday that they were not sure whether the passenger had a mental disorder.

CN7233 flight left Beijing at 2:12 pm on Saturday, 32 minutes later than the scheduled time and reached Yinchuan at 3:30 pm on the same day. The return flight, CN7234, arrived in Beijing at 6:17 pm on Saturday, 12 minutes' later than the scheduled time, according to the Legal Mirror.

Multiple parties including the airline company and the passenger's guardians should be responsible for the incident, Zhang Qihuai, a member of the air and space law research center under the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Legal Mirror on Sunday.

If a person threatens the safety of a flight they face a minimum of three years in jail, Zhang said.

If the person is proven to have a mental condition, his guardians and family members will bear legal responsibilities. Meanwhile, the security departments of airports may also bear some responsibility if they do not handle incidents in a timely, responsible manner, Zhang said.

If a flight is delayed due to improper management, passengers can ask the company to pay compensation. If the delay is not the air company's fault and the company is able to control the passenger's behavior, other passengers should not ask for compensation, he said.