Passenger on TAROM flight self-harmed with a razor blade, many Romanian officials on board

A passenger on a TAROM flight from Brussels to Bucharest became unruly, brandished a blade and harmed himself. Several Romanian officials, including NATO deputy secretary-general Mircea Geoană, were on the plane.

The man became unruly during the flight and the cabin crew attempted to calm him down. Border police were urgently called to intervene as soon as the plane landed at Henri Coanda Airport. His behavior worsened when he saw officers approaching. The passenger was taken from the airport to a hospital.

"Last night on the TAROM Brussels-Otopeni flight operated with a Boeing 737-700, a dangerous incident occurred. After taking off from Brussels, a Romanian passenger in the economy class began to argue with the flight attendants, uttering various insults and threats against them. The cabin crew and the flight's commander acted in strict accordance with the national and internal procedures of the company, but the unruly passenger did not want to stop and was visibly in a negative mental state," TAROM sources told Digi24.

"[After landing] the passenger in question noticed the police and security personnel from TAROM boarding the plane, moved to a seat in the business class and self-harmed severely using a razor blade hidden under his tongue during security screening at Brussels airport. His self-harm caused blood to spread heavily in the business class cabin before the intervention teams could arrive. [...] Security screening was carried out by the Belgian security system, and investigations are underway to see how this passenger managed to pass through with that blade. The passenger intentionally self-harmed in order to be taken to the emergency room of a hospital, from where he would attempt to escape."

On board the plane were Mircea Geoană, the deputy secretary-general of NATO, Raed Arafat, the head of DSU, and former minister Rovana Plumb. 

TAROM considered landing at another airport due to the escalation of the crisis. According to the company, for the safety of passengers, the captain, along with the crew, even considered landing at airports near the flight route, other than the destination airport.

"This option was abandoned as periods of behavioral stability and calmness were displayed by the passenger after receiving warnings. After landing, the passenger's attitude escalated," TAROM explained. 

TAROM is considering initiating legal action against the passenger to discourage such behavior and to recover damages caused.

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(Photo source: Colicaranica | Dreamstime.com)