A Kenyan man made headlines for hijacking a plane flying from the UK to Nairobi, nearly killing 379 passengers and 19 members of the crew on board.
The 27-year-old Kenyan national rushed into the cockpit, grabbed the plane's controls and pushed the Boeing 747-400 into a series of nosedives.
In the infamous incident which happened in December 2000, the Kenyan national struggled with the pilots, subdued them and took control of the plane.
He even went overboard by biting one of the pilot's ears and finger amid screams from the 319 passengers.
With no prior flying experience, he was reported to have taken control of the plane for nearly two minutes.
During the struggle, the plane plummeted 19,000 feet from its initial cruising altitude of 30,000 feet.
The Nairobi-bound plane was, however, saved from crashing by one brave passenger, Clarke Bynum, a former Clemson University basketball player.
Bynum rushed to the cockpit and overpowered the hijacker.
"There was this strength within that made me get up and go. It came from God. As I opened the door, the assailant and the co-pilot were basically wrestling. The pilot was trying to get him away.
"Fortunately, I was able to get my arms around his neck and shoulders and pinned him to the ground. By this time, a couple of others had come in and helped get him out," Bynum, a South Carolina resident told the Associated Press (AP) adding that flight attendants handcuffed the hijacker.
After calm was restored, the pilot addressed the passengers on the intercom, stating that "A madman tried to take control of the plane and bring it down to commit suicide."
After two hours in the sky, the plane managed to land safely in Nairobi. Four passengers, however, sustained minor injuries.
"There was this awful lurching, it felt like turbulence, but with this horrible noise, it was like a roller coaster, when the pit of your stomach drops out,” an American lady recalled.
Upon investigations, it was established that the Kenyan man had underlying mental issues. A doctor at a hospital in Nairobi confirmed.
Kenya's police issued a statement asking the British officials to pardon the hijacker, citing his mental health status.
British aviation officials, later on, opened a probe into the safety of pilots and other passengers. The kidnapping ordeal also brought reforms into the aviation sector.
