Russian police detained a drunken man who allegedly attempted to “hijack” a Moscow-bound flight on Tuesday, Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told TASS new agency.
The accused allegedly threatened the crew of the Aeroflot passenger plane soon after it took off from Surgut and demanded that it divert from its scheduled route.
The pilots decided to make an emergency landing in the Khanty-Mansiysk because of the incident. Aeroflot said the plane was parked on the runway for more than an hour before security officials boarded the flight. Meanwhile, authorities evacuated the airport and cordoned off the area.
The accused has a record for damaging property and has now been charged with hijacking. “The man has been detained, he is a citizen of Surgut, who was earlier convicted for damaging property,” Petrenko said. “He tried to break into the pilots’ cabin during the flight.”
Officials are investigating the incident. The Urals transport investigation directorate of the Investigative Committee said he was not armed.
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