Assailant had seemed agitated - Gooray Nine-year-old talked pilot through landing By Samantha Alleyne Stabroek News February 1, 2001 Vydia Gooray, who at great risk to her own life, subdued a knife-wielding attacker on Monday, preventing fatal injury to a young pilot, said yesterday that just before she stabbed the pilot, the woman had appeared to be very agitated. And Vydia Gooray was not the only heroine of the real-life drama in which the pilot was stabbed by a jilted lover. Though terrified, her daughter, nine-year-old 'co-pilot' Grace Gooray talked to the pilot, who was groggy from the loss of blood, until he was able to put the plane safely on the ground at Ogle. Speaking from her bed at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital yesterday, Vydia Gooray said that she felt no enmity for the young lady who placed their lives in danger. She suggested that the twenty-one-year-old woman was in need of expert help. Vydia was bitten by the attacker and also suffered a knife wound in the palm of her hand. Vydia and Grace Gooray were the two other passengers on the Cessna 182 four-seater plane which had only been in the air for a few minutes when the attacker made her move--stabbing the pilot and putting everyone's life at risk. Twenty-four-year-old Yacoob Mazaharally known as Yacoob Ally and 'Joey' is a patient at the same hospital nursing stab wounds to his head, shoulder and wrist. Recounting the Monday afternoon ordeal, Vydia Gooray recalled that when she turned up at the Air Services Ltd Ogle office, she was in a hurry and was hoping that the third passenger would arrive shortly so they could take off. She and her daughter were on their way home to Essequibo. She said she noticed the young lady when she entered and asked her if she was the third person and she replied in the affirmative. The woman said the young woman even told her that she was travelling to Essequibo to visit relatives. According to Gooray, as soon as the aircraft took off she noticed a difference in the young woman but attributed it to her being afraid of flying. She said her suspicion was temporarily confirmed when the woman told her she was not feeling well and asked her to get her tablets from a bag, which was behind them. Prior to this, Gooray said, the woman had given her a magazine while she kept a folder on her lap. The shaken woman said she had difficulty finding the zipper on the bag and turned to ask the young woman for assistance, but noted that she seemed very agitated. It was while she was still trying to locate the zipper, Gooray said, that the young woman suddenly lunged forward stabbing the pilot. Gooray said that at that point she thought the woman's illness had caused her to go berserk, but then she heard the woman cursing the pilot and realised that it was personal. She did not know how many stabs the woman pelted at the young pilot, who, at that point, seemed disoriented. But she said she threw herself on the young woman, at the same time screaming at the pilot to take control of the aircraft. She said that it was only after she had wrested the knife from the assailant and given it to her daughter, that the pilot took stock of the situation and control of the aircraft which was just a few feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Grace, terrified and screaming, had the job of keeping the pilot focused on his task entrusted on her. Gooray said she told her daughter to keep talking to the young pilot so that he could land the plane safely, while she tried to subdue the young woman. During this time, she said, there was a slight electrical problem in the plane and sparks flew around, causing all radio contact to be lost. Gooray said that at no time did she see any animosity in the attacker's eye for herself or daughter. She said she had only God to thank that the plane did not crash. Gooray said that there ought to be security regulations concerning passengers boarding domestic flights with dangerous weapons, as had these been in place, the woman would not have been able to board the aircraft with the knife. The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has since launched an investigation into the attack and would be looking at such regulations. Meanwhile, the female who allegedly stabbed the pilot, is still under police guard in the Georgetown Public Hospital. The police have since taken statements from both Gooray and the pilot. It was understood that the police were expected to read the charge or charges to the accused, but this could not be confirmed as the Public Relations Officer for the police was unavailable. Physician, Clinical and Forensic Psychiatrist, Dr Frank Beckles, contacted by Stabroek News on what could have triggered the attack, said that if they had a relationship and it was resolved then it was obvious that the young lady was not over it. Dr Beckles, who also specializes in treatment of stress-related disorders, said that clearly, from all reports, the act was premeditated, and as such one would want to know the nature and result of the relationship the two had. On the question of temporary insanity, Dr Beckles said that a forensic psychiatrist would have to assess the young woman's level of functioning to try to determine whether when she committed the act she was temporarily insane. However, he said, it was obvious that the woman was clearly disturbed and counselling was of vital importance to prevent a reoccurrence. He suggested that everyone who was on the plane should be counselled as the incident was a very traumatic one. The doctor also took the opportunity to wish the young pilot a speedy recovery. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today