Hostage drama on Beijing-bound flight forces emergency landing in China

A domestic Air China flight to Beijing was diverted for an emergency landing on Sunday morning after a male passenger held a flight attendant hostage with a fountain pen, Chinese aviation authorities said. Flight CA1350 from Changsha, Hunan province, landed at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Henan province, the Civil Aviation Administration said. “By 13.17 the incident had been settled successfully. The passengers and crew are all safe,” the statement said. “An investigation showed the man used a fountain pen [to take the hostage].” Henan police said a 41-year-old man from Anhua, Hunan province, who experienced a “mental illness” during the flight, had been taken into custody over the incident, Shanghai-based online news outlet The Paper reported. All passengers on board the flight were safely evacuated through the rear exit by 10.50am, and the man was subdued after 1pm.<br/>