Plane Forced to Land After Passenger Tries to Tamper With Door

A Skyservice Airlines flight bound for Toronto from the Caribbean was forced to land in the Dominican Republic yesterday after a passenger tried to tamper with a cabin door.
A statement from the airline last night said that crew members, assisted by passengers, were able to subdue the man. As a precaution, the Boeing 757 jet was diverted to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

"The door was never at risk of opening in flight," said airline spokeswoman Sabah Mirza. "The flight crew reacted quickly and appropriately to restrain the passenger and maintain the safety of the aircraft."

The plane had left Grenada and was scheduled to stop in Barbados when it was diverted.
The airline said the remaining 201 passengers on flight No. 828 were put up overnight in Punta Cana and that the flight to Toronto would resume today.
News reports yesterday said the incident caused alarm in Grenada after a man told reporters that a relative on board the aircraft had called him and said the plane had been hijacked.
Media reports also said a man was detained by Dominican authorities for questioning. The man's name and nationality were not released.

Source: www.canada.com/Canwest News Service