http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304181204579368912606603056 ISTANBUL—Turkey said a plane from Kharkiv, Ukraine, with 110 passengers landed safely at an airport in Istanbul after one traveler issued a bomb threat and tried to redirect the plane to Sochi, where Russia is staging the Winter Olympics. Pilots sent a signal that the plane was being hijacked before entering Turkey's airspace, said Habib Soluk, an undersecretary at the Transportation Ministry, during a live interview with the NTV news channel. The hijacker has been rendered ineffective, NTV reported. No one was hurt, Mr. Soluk said. Turkey scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to force Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines flight to land at Sabiha Gokcen Airport on Istanbul's Asian side, which was its original final destination, according to news-agency reports. The Boeing 737 landed at 6:05 p.m. local time, Pegasus said in a statement, about a half hour before its scheduled arrival time. "A citizen of Ukraine declared that he had a bomb on him, and demanded the plane to be directed to Sochi… The pilots calmly landed the plane at Sabiha Gokcen," Mr. Soluk said, adding that the man hadn't entered the plane's cockpit. Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Zvarych said the alleged hijacker is a Ukrainian citizen born in 1969. The Ukrainian consul is at the airport in Turkey to help Ukrainian citizens who were on board, he said. Mr. Zvarych said he wasn't convinced the attempt was terrorism of any sort, but that Ukraine's security service, the SBU, will try to investigate further. A representative for the SBU said in a statement that the passenger was "heavily drunk," according to the Interfax news agency. "He tried to enter the pilot's cabin, calling out, "Let's fly to Sochi," the representative said, according to Interfax. The representative said that "they calmed [the passenger] down and checked him," and he didn't have explosives or weapons. Turkish television stations aired an image, purportedly from inside the plane, allegedly depicting the hijacker and a stewardess flanked by another member of the cabin crew. The alleged hijacker was seated at 2F, a window seat in the second row, according to media reports corroborated by the image. The image showed a middle-aged man with gray hair and a receding hairline. The sideshot of the alleged hijacker showed him stooping as he moved toward the corridor, wearing a sports jersey in red, white and blue. Istanbul Gov. Huseyin Avni Mutlu also arrived at the airport and is being briefed by authorities. Whatever the alleged hijacker's intentions or actions, the timing of the incident is bound to raise already-high tensions about security at the Sochi Olympics, which began Thursday. The plane landed just moments before the Olympics' opening ceremony was set to begin. News of the incident surfaced an hour so later, as thousands of athletes from dozens of nations were parading into a stadium packed with mostly Russian spectators. The show—focused on Russian history and achievements in the arts—proceeded as planned, with Russian President Vladimir Putin looking on and the crowd apparently oblivious to the news reports. As the ceremony proceeded inside the stadium, several hundred people milled around outside, waiting for the Olympic torch to be lit later in the evening. Security concerns were heightened in late December, when the southern city of Volgogard, about 400 miles from Sochi, was hit by suicide bombings on successive days that left 35 people dead. In October, a third suicide bombing there had killed seven people. In January, an Islamic militant group in the nearby North Caucasus mountains claimed responsibility for the December bombings. In a video posted online, the group threatened to strike the Olympics. The persistent fears have underlined a drumbeat of cautions from U.S. officials for those attending the games. Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to airlines flying to Russia to be on the lookout for explosives hidden in toothpaste tubes. "Out of an abundance of caution, DHS regularly shares relevant information with domestic and international partners, including those associated with international events such as the Sochi Olympics," a Homeland Security official said. "While we are not aware of a specific threat to the homeland at this time, this routine communication is an important part of our commitment to making sure we meet that priority." Last month, the U.S. Olympic Committee sent American athletes a memo that the State Department "has advised that wearing conspicuous Team USA clothing in nonaccredited areas may put your personal safety at greater risk." Security around the Sochi Olympic Park so far has been tight but not oppressive, with a prominent police presence. Some of the tightest checks have been taking place at a station where passengers board a new train that takes spectators to the mountain sites where alpine ski events are to be held.
Exactly how would banning guns prevent a criminal from getting and using a gun? After all hijacking is "banned".
From what I understand, Istanbul was Constantinople. Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople. Been a long time gone, Constantinople. Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CLjNJI54GMM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLjNJI54GMM
Good thing this ended quickly. I am going to guess that the Russians would be more than willing to shoot down a hijacked plane that was heading towards Sochi right now.
he seems to be an economical terrorist... btw just noticed this on the chairs of the plane... Spoiler
Not sure if you are joking but the 911 terrorist all flew first class. If you think about it it makes sense. You are much closer to the cockpit and have less seats and passengers near you to stop you right away. Also on many flights first class is the only class that you get actual china plates and metal knives.
