A man was detained for burning a newspaper and brandishing a knife on a domestic Chinese flight in the early hours of Sunday morning, media reported.
A total of 95 passengers and nine crew members on board flight ZH9648, traveling from Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang Province to Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, were evacuated safely upon arrival in the southern city, news portal sina.com reported.
"A passenger planned to damage in-flight facilities to 'provoke trouble,' which was highly dangerous," said a statement from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport on Sunday. "The man was restrained by flight crew and passengers," the statement went on to say.
Huang Caihong, a passenger aboard the flight, said that the man, who appeared to be in his 40s or 50s, lit newspaper that had been soaked with gasoline when the plane was about to land, the Hangzhou-based Qianjiang Evening News reported Sunday.
"He then took out a 20- to 30-centimeter-long knife and told passengers not to move," said Huang.
Photos posted online by sina.com showed ashes scattered over one charred seat and black smoke marks on one cabin door.
The crew informed airport personnel of the incident after the man was under control, said Sina.
Two passengers and a security guard were hurt when they tried to restrain the man. One of the injured passengers has been discharged from hospital.
Yang Youde, director of Taizhou's civil aviation bureau said that airport security videos give few clues as to how the suspect managed to carry the hazardous materials on the plane, National Business Daily reported Sunday.
Passengers are banned from carrying dangerous articles onto planes and violators can receive a fine of up to 5,000 yuan ($805), according to China's civil aviation security regulations.
Local police said they were investigating the incident.
