An Algerian asylum seeker on a commuter plane in northern Norway attacked both pilots and a passenger with an ax as the aircraft was landing Wednesday, police said.

The injured pilots could land the Kato Air Dornier 228 safely in the northern town of Bodoe after passengers subdued the attacker, police and witnesses said.

The attacker, a man in his 30s whose name was being withheld, was arrested after the plane landed, police official Bjarte Walla told The Associated Press. Seven passengers were on board.

A hospital statement said the pilots and the injured passenger suffered what appeared to be relatively minor head injuries, but were being kept in intensive care as a precaution. Earlier police had said the injuries were serious.

The aircraft was flying from the northern town of Narvik to Bodoe, about 530 miles north of Oslo. The attack happened as the plane was making its final approach just before 11 a.m.

"Despite their injuries, the pilots managed to land the plane safely," Walla said.

Walla said the attacker used an ax he likely had smuggled on board, and not one that was part of the airplane's emergency equipment as earlier reported by police.

The Narvik local airport, where the passengers boarded, is upgrading its security systems to meet a Jan. 1 deadline, but does not yet have metal detectors and X-ray machines that could detect hidden weapons.

Walla said he had no information about a motive behind the attack.

"It's too early to say whether this was planned or impulsive," he said.

Passenger Irene Lokland told the Norwegian news agency NTB that she saw the man walking toward the cockpit, and the plane began to roll terrifyingly before she heard someone shout, "Come and help."

"For a few terrible moments, I thought I was going to die," said Lokland, who said she rushed forward.

She said two male passengers were already holding the attacker down and dragged him out of the cockpit. She said he was shouting and struggling as the plane landed.

The plane will remain grounded at the Bodoe airport for investigation.

Source: Agencies