Source: BBC News online
A hijacked internal Turkish Airlines flight has landed in Athens escorted by two fighter jets, according to reports. Turkey’s Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said the lone hijacker wanted to fly on to Berlin.There has been no confirmation of the landing from the Greek authorities.
Flight TK160, flying from Istanbul to Ankara, was reported hijacked soon after take-off at 2000 GMT.
It diverted course, heading towards the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, but later started heading towards neighbouring Greece.
According to the BBC’s correspondent Jonny Dymond there have been requests that the plane be refuelled in Athens.
There are reportedly 203 people on board, 194 passengers and nine crew.
There are also reports that two members of the governing party and one opposition member of parliament are on board the flight.
As far as I can ascertain, the flight’s scheduled to be a 737, although there are as yet no details of the type of aircraft.
By: T5 - 30th March 2003 at 19:56
I thought these things were meant to happen anymore?
By: Alepou 340MB - 29th March 2003 at 10:14
From: MILLIYET
– Friday’s hiijacking was the second in two months for the Turkish Airlines pilot. He had captained a similar Airbus A-310 briefly seized by a man at Istanbul airport some six weeks ago.
Cheers,
Alepou 340MB
By: KabirT - 29th March 2003 at 06:53
good it didnt end in any bloodshed!
By: Alepou 340MB - 29th March 2003 at 02:53
Hijacker of Turkish Plane Arrested
10 minutes ago
By THEODORA TONGAS, Associated Press Writer
ATHENS, Greece – A hijacker saying he was armed with explosives commandeered a domestic Turkish flight late Friday and forced it to land in Greece. He surrendered hours later and more than 200 people aboard were freed unharmed, officials said.
Police arrested 20-year-old Ozgur Gencarslan, a Turkish citizen who was reportedly overwhelmed by family problems.
“All passengers are safe outside the airplane. That was our concern,” Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou said at Athens airport.
Turkish police said Gencarslan hijacked the plane to reunite with his father who lives in Germany, private NTV television reported. He was distraught because his stepfather had barred him from seeing his mother and sister in Turkey.
“It appears he had some psychological problems. Another plane is on the way to collect the passengers,” Greek Deputy Transport Minister Manolis Stratakis said.
He said police were checking passenger reports that the hijacker was strapped with explosives and brandishing a razor.
Turkish authorities said that there were no injuries among the 205 people aboard — 196 passengers and nine crew members.
The first clear break to the standoff came as passengers began filing out of the Turkish Airlines plane early Saturday, about five hours after the hijacking began.
“We’ve boarded buses, we’re heading toward terminal building,” passenger Kubilay Timucin told Turkish television in a cell phone call.
The Turkish Airlines plane was on a domestic flight from Istanbul to Ankara when it was hijacked 25 minutes after takeoff. It diverted course and began heading toward the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, later traveling to Greece, Turkey’s private NTV television reported.
After the plane stopped in Athens to refuel, Greek anti-terrorist police surrounded it at an isolated area of the Athens runway and a top police official negotiated with the hijacker.
The Greek air force scrambled F-16 fighter jets to prevent the plane from landing, but officials quickly called them off.
“Two hundred people are two hundred people. We would have prevented it coming to Athens, but they said they had no fuel and we couldn’t risk it,” Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas said.
Turkey’s Transportation Ministry said the hijacker claimed to have plastic explosives and was seen carrying five candle sticks as he boarded in Istanbul. It said he have pretended that they were explosives.
During the standoff, Turkish television broadcast interviews with passengers who spoke via mobile phones.
“The hostess told us that a male hijacker was in the cockpit, and said he had strapped bombs onto his body,” a passenger, who identified himself as Sami, told private NTV television by phone from the plane.
Turkey’s Anatolia news agency said three lawmakers and a former Turkish economy minister were on board.
Another passenger, Kaan Sahinalp, told Turkey’s TV 8 television station there was little panic on board.
“We are waiting. We believe the plane will take off to Germany,” Sahinalp said.
The Greek police have for months been training a special anti-terrorist squad to deal with hijackings and other terrorism at the airport as part of its preparations for the Olympics.
The last hijacking at Istanbul’s airport was in February, when a lone hijacker claiming to have a bomb briefly held two flight attendants hostage before police stormed the aircraft.
In 1998, a man carrying a teddy bear he claimed was stuffed with explosives commandeered a Turkish Airlines flight. The incident ended when he was overpowered by other passengers.
Seven months later a man brandishing what turned out to be a toy gun hijacked another Turkish jetliner. He was persuaded to surrender.
A third hijacking that year ended in bloodshed when security officials stormed a plane on the tarmac at Ankara airport and shot dead a Kurdish rebel armed with a hand grenade. No passengers were hurt.
Cheers,
Alepou 340MB
By: glafferty - 29th March 2003 at 01:30
REUTERS.COM
Fri March 28, 2003 08:11 PM ET
ATHENS (Reuters) – The hijacker of a Turkish Airlines plane on Saturday released all the passengers at Athens airport, a Greek police spokesman said.
“The passengers are getting off the plane unharmed,” a spokesman told Reuters.
The hijacker, who claimed he had explosives strapped to his body, seized Flight TK 160 after taking off from Istanbul on a domestic flight to Ankara on Friday night. The plane landed in Athens for refueling. According to German air traffic control the hijacker insisted on flying to Tegel airport in Berlin.
By: dan777 - 29th March 2003 at 00:24
Aircraft confirmed as Airbus A310
Regards
dan777
By: A330Crazy - 28th March 2003 at 23:46
Two Hijacking in as little as two months! Both Turkish airlines too. Like LGKR says, I hope it is quickly resolved, and that there are no casulties.
By: Bhoy - 28th March 2003 at 23:35
THY operate the 737-800, with a layout of 165.
Although, as I say, the type of a/c hasn’t been confirmed, that’s just what’s down in the schedule for the evening (10pm local time) shuttle.
Going by the amount of pax, either it’s a 737 with a large amount of infants, or it’s one of their 210 capacity A310’s or 271 capacity A340’s.
By: LGKR - 28th March 2003 at 23:12
😮 god!!!
i suspect that it will be a total coincidence if the hijackers (whoever they are) didnt know that the mentioned politicians would be onboard!! still, hope the situation is resolved as soon as possible with everyone but the passengers and crew uninjured.
gonna be cynical aviation wise now, 194 people onboard!? surely the type couldnt therefore be a 737?
perfectly willing to be proved wrong,
LGKR
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March 28, 2003 at 11:07 pm
