The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Malaysia's airport authorities suspended a security officer yesterday as a passenger took out a knife aboard a GMG flight and used it to cut an apple.

The GMG Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka made an emergency landing in Bangkok Tuesday after the passenger took out a fruit knife.

Kamaruddin Mohamed Ismail, a senior official of Malaysia Airports, said authorities were investigating how the man could take the knife aboard the plane. "The security officer on duty has been suspended pending further investigation," he said in a statement.

He said the man had carried "a fruit knife which he used to cut an apple."

Thai police had said Tuesday that the passenger brandished a 10-centimeter (4-inch) knife and threatened to hurt other passengers. Police described the man as mentally unstable.

New agency AP said the Thai police took him off the plane at Bangkok's Don Muang airport to send him to Bangladesh with airline security personnel on another flight of GMG, a low-cost Bangladeshi airline.

A flight of GMG Airlines, the country's first private airliner, made an emergency landing at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok Tuesday as an onboard passenger took out a knife.

The pilot of the GMG Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka asked for an emergency landing at 9:30 am (0230 GMT) after a passenger, Harun Or Rashid, took out the knife.

The captain made the request at 9.15am and two fighter jets from the Thai Air Force escorted the plane to land at the airport, which caters for domestic flights.

No charge was made against Harun as he did not commit any offence or harm passengers and crew.

Harun was being escorted to Bangkok's international airport, where he placed on a flight to Dhaka Tuesday afternoon.

Aviation officials could not explain how Harun Ali had got onto the plane with a knife.

The GMG flight, which had about 60 passengers, was grounded for about two hours in Bangkok before resuming its journey to Dhaka and it landed at Zia International Airport at 2:20pm.