Hijack Thwarted In Spain

A passenger pulled a knife on a flight from Colombia on Friday, forcing the plane to be diverted to a military base near Madrid, a spokeswoman for the Spanish airports authority AENA said.

The Avianca plane was bound for Madrid's Barajas airport and was diverted to Torrejon air base. Spanish National Radio said it was escorted by two military jets.

"It was a plane bound for Barajas coming from Bogota which, for security, was diverted to Torrejon," the AENA spokeswoman said. "Apparently a deranged passenger pulled out a knife."

She did not know the type of plane or number of passengers on board.

Newspaper El Mundo reported on its Web site that the would-be hijacker was arrested after special forces stormed the plane. Neither police nor government sources could immediately provide further details.

Airline security has been increased worldwide since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, when hijackers armed with knives crashed two jets into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, killing around 3,000 people.

Strict rules have since been imposed on the carrying of any type of sharp object in passengers' hand luggage.