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With the deranged man behind the yoke, the Boeing 747, packed with 503 passengers and a crew of 14, plunged to within 300 meters (984 feet) of the ground. Moments before what might have been the airline industry's worst-ever disaster, the deposed co-pilot and an off-duty pilot stormed the cockpit, tied up the assailant and resumed control of the aircraft, which they managed to land safely in Tokyo. Despite the efforts of an onboard physician, the injured pilot bled to death.

Later, when police questioned Nishizawa about his motive, he expressed a fondness for flight simulation games, which had apparently ceased to capture his imagination. "I wanted to soar through the air," he reportedly told police.

In the All Nippon Airways case, a hijacker forced his way past the cockpit door in a planned attack. But unplanned break-in attempts by disturbed passengers add a whole new wrinkle to the withering face of in-flight tranquillity. Since July 1997, there have been at least 14 instances where an unauthorized person attempted to breach the cockpit door during a commercial airline flight, including the two described above. Of these, eight were successful. The result: Three physical attacks on pilots (all in March), at least five flight diversions and more than two dozen pilots who were forced to shift their attention from the controls to a potentially violent intruder. Here's how the incidents played out:

July 14, 1997: After Thomas Kasper poured hot coffee on a flight attendant (inflicting second- and third-degree burns), his traveling companion, Susan Callihan, kicked a hole in the cockpit door. Witnesses on the Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Los Angeles said Callihan then told the flight crew there were bombs and guns on the airplane, though none were found. In addition to this, Kasper nearly opened an emergency door when the plane landed. Both were arrested and convicted of interfering with a flight crew. The couple received his-and-hers prison sentences of three and two years respectively.

July 27, 1997: A woman traveling with her young son tried to enter the cockpit aboard a Northwest Airlink flight from Iowa to the Minneapolis-St.Paul airport. When the pilot closed the door, the woman -- described by one passenger as a white-knuckle flier in the midst of a panic attack -- became hysterical. She kicked open the cockpit door. Passengers said the pilots chose to return to Fort Dodge Regional Airport because they could no longer concentrate.

Nov. 25, 1997: As the pilots of a Cathay Pacific aircraft prepared to land in Bangkok, Thailand, a drunken Burmese passenger stormed the cockpit. He was removed by passengers and crew, handcuffed and turned over to Bangkok police upon landing. At the time of the incident, Cathay Pacific's policy allowed cockpit doors to remain unlocked during flight. The policy, an airline spokesman claimed, facilitates better communication between pilots and cabin crew.

Dec. 16, 1997: Dean Trammel, a muscular, 200-pound college football player, suffered a "psychotic break" aboard U.S. Airways flight 38 bound for Baltimore from Los Angeles. After wandering up the aisle and claiming to be Jesus Christ, he tried to get into the cockpit. Flight attendants blocked access, but Trammel threw one of them over three rows of seats. She slammed into a bulkhead. Passengers and off-duty U.S. Airways pilots wrestled Trammel to the ground. He was tied with seat-belt extensions at his wrists, elbows, ankles, knees and legs. The plane landed with the two off-duty pilots sitting on top of him.

Sept. 23, 1998: The FBI charged Titan Tibor Sallai with intimidating a flight crew by allegedly attempting to enter the cockpit of a United Airlines jet. The plane was traveling between Las Vegas and Washington. Crew members had to use force to prevent Sallai from opening the cockpit door as well as an emergency exit door. Federal agents reported that at some point during the flight, Sallai attempted to drink contact lens cleaning fluid. The plane diverted to Denver.

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