About two years ago, I was en-route back from my holiday in Australia. Some of you may know, I was terrified of flying at this point and so the thought of sitting on a plane for eight hours was far from ideal.
My dad and myself were lucky enough to be treated to an upgrade to business class, and so boarded the plane in good time and we were made to feel very comfortable. I had my usual freak-out as we took off out of Singapore's turbulent climate but eventually settled down into what seemed like a normal flight.
Around four hours into the flight we were flying East of Hyderabad. I was in my element watching "The One Where Ross Is Fine" (Friends) and eating from Emirates' exquisite menu. However my tranquility was ruined by the noise of screams and the sound of breaking glass...
Never have I seen a stewardess so fast.
Everyone in my cabin (just beyond the bulkhead) bolted upright in their seat and turned to witness a man welding a stolen walking stick and screaming in Arabic. He beat a gentlemen behind us very badly, and then moved to the second isle. The next in line for a beating would have been my dad and myself had he not have changed path. He continued his path of havoc and knocked over a dinner trolly breaking glasses left right and centre.
He was demanding the stewardess to see the pilot, while intermittently shouting "Allahu Akbar" at the top of his voice. By this point I was convinced this was a terrorist attack; however poorly planned it seemed to be.
I vividly remember looking down at the ocean from my window thinking, "that's where we're going". My stomach turned into an endless pit, as that moment seemed to last forever.
The stewardess refused to take him to the captain. The man reacted badly and begun beating her with the stolen walking stick in the footwell of one of the seats on our row. The shouting was endless.
At this moment my love for Australians was solidified for life as a very brave Australian man came to the rescue. I recognised the hero as I had noticed him at the gate. He had icy blue eyes and a very calm demeanour, as if he saw events like this all the time. Saying: "calm down mate" in a perfect Australian accent, he wrestled the man off the stewardess and began to detain him.
Other stewardesses rescued their beaten crew member and ran to collect restraints. The man was quickly tied up in an excess of seat belts and cable ties and was given some form of a sedative.
The man began to calm down, and the shouting eased. At this point, all nearby passengers including my dad and myself were moved to empty seats beyond the bulkhead. There was an amazing sense of team spirit, and the Australian was congratulated thoroughly. He did however have to continue to guard the man for the remaining four hours of the flight.
The last four hours in the air were exhausting, and I have never felt so relieved as I did when we landed in Dubai. The Dubai police escorted the man away from the plane, and injured passengers were given urgent medical care.
My dad and I continued to our connection, and needless to say we landed safely in London seven hours later. We were later told by Emirates that the man had Schizophrenia, and was not endangering the flight.
Be that as it may, it was certainly the most eventful flight I have experienced.
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