Real Story Behind Turkish Airline Hijacking Even More Bizarre Than First Thought
Posted October 4, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It now appears most of what we were originally told about the incident wasn’t true at all.
It began when a Turkish jet heading from Albania to Istanbul with 107 passengers on board was forced to land in Italy. The pilot reported there were at least two hijackers who wanted to send a message to the Pope about his upcoming visit to Turkey.
As it turns out, there was only one man commandeering the plane and he wasn’t angry about recent comments by Pope Benedict regarding Muslims. Instead, authorities contend Hakan Ekinci (top left) just wanted to get out of serving in the Turkish army.
The 27-year-old is a Christian convert who recently wrote to the Pontiff complaining he didn’t want to serve in what he referred to as “a Muslim army” and pleading for help.
He’s seeking political asylum in Italy, after being turned down in Albania.
How did one unarmed man take over a plane by himself? Incredibly, it happened after a flight assistant accidentally left the cockpit door open shortly after take-off.
Authorities claim Ekinci simply walked into the sensitive area, told the pilot he had a bomb and some co-conspirators on board and ordered the Boeing 737 to land in Italy.
“There was no panic among the passengers,” points out Ergun Erkoseoglu, who was one of those on the diverted craft. “After the incident was over he (the hijacker) said: “I apologize to all of you. Good night.”
The Vatican claims the incident, while disturbing, won’t affect the Pope’s plans to visit Turkey next month.
