Pilots stabbed in attack aboard New Zealand plane

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A woman passenger on a New Zealand commuter plane has been charged with hijacking after she allegedly stabbed both pilots and threatened to blow up the 19-seat aircraft, police said on Friday.

The pilots were attacked about 20 minutes into the Air New Zealand flight between the South Island centers of Blenheim and Christchurch by a woman armed with a knife who demanded to be flown to Australia, police said in a statement.

Neither pilot was seriously hurt and they were able to land the plane safely.

Their assailant tried to tamper with the controls of the plane as it was coming in to land at Christchurch and was only disarmed when the plane hit turbulence, police said.

Police with dogs boarded the plane and arrested a 33-year-old woman, who is originally from Somalia. She was later charged with hijacking and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and was due to appear in court in Christchurch on Saturday.

The plane was left on the runway while a bomb squad was called in, but no bomb was found aboard, Canterbury District Commander Superintendent Dave Cliff told Reuters.

The two pilots were taken to Christchurch hospital but their wounds were not life-threatening. One passenger and the woman arrested were treated for minor cuts.

The flight took off from Blenheim at 7:20 a.m. (1820 GMT) and the pilots sent a distress call at 7:40 a.m. The plane landed at Christchurch shortly after 8 a.m.

Christchurch Airport was closed to all flights for about three hours after the incident.

The 19-seater Jetstream planes are used on short-haul regional flights by national carrier Air New Zealand and have only curtains separating the cockpit from the passenger area.

(Reporting by Adrian Bathgate; Editing by Alex Richardson)