04.10.06
A terrifying lapse in aircraft security allowed an unarmed man to hijack a passenger jet with more than 100 passengers aboard, it was revealed today.
The man strolled from his seat on the Turkish Airlines plane and simply pushed aside a stewardess who had opened the cockpit door to serve drinks to the crew.
He then told the pilot he had accomplices on board who would blow up the plane if his demands were not met.
The pilot felt he had no choice and diverted the flight in Tuesday's drama, from Tirana to Istanbul and carrying 107 passengers and six crew, to Brindisi airport in southern Italy where the hijacker apologised, requested political asylum and was arrested. He turned out to have no weapon or accomplices.
But the possibility he could have been a terrorist and the ease with which he carried out the hijack sent a shudder through security agencies, at a time when British air passengers are subject to stringent checks and delays.
And in another astonishing revelation, it emerged the hijacker knew the supposedly secret code pilots use to tell air traffic controllers of emergencies.
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