A Ukrainian man tried to hijack an Istanbul-bound flight that he thought was headed for Sochi on Friday, the Associated Press reports. The inbound airport was reportedly placed on high alert after the apparently intoxicated man rose from his seat, shouted that there was a bomb on the plane and attempted to enter the locked cockpit door.
Passenger attempts to hijack Istanbul-bound plane to Sochi
In Instanbul, a plane has landed safely after a hijacking attempt by a man who wanted to divert the flight Sochi.
Robert Cianflone
The man was unable to reach the pilots, but asked that the plane not land in Istanbul but be diverted to Sochi, where the 2014 Winter Olympics are underway, according to CNN. The man said that the bomb was in the plane’s baggage hold.
The Ukrainian Security Service said that man has been pacified, and that no weapons or explosives were found on his person. The Pegasus Airlines flight landed safely at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, and photos from social media showed a man in a red tracksuit being escorted off the plane, according to The Telegraph.
The plane was reportedly escorted to the ground by an F-16 plane after the pilot signaled that a hijacking attempt was in progress. Nobody appears to have been harmed in the incident. The plane’s captain, Ilyas Karagulle, was able to signal that his crew was okay.
More on the Winter Olympics:
• Hockey: Men’s schedule | All 12 men’s rosters | USA roster analysis
See More:
