The perp.
Randy from Right Winged is reporting that the plane is down safely. Could this incident be over so quickly without incident? PTL if true!
Waiting to hear the inside story from those on the ground.
The plane is on the ground safely in Italy. It's been reported that the hijackers are ready to surrender, so hopefully this won't lead to an old-style PLO-like standoff on the runway. (h/t Randy)
Yeah, it's pretty much been confirmed (h/t MKHam) that the plane is down, the hijackers are almost (oops, misread that) under the control of the authorities, and the passengers are all safe. According to news reports, the hijackers merely wanted to protest the fact that the Pope is visiting Turkey (h/t Allahpundit).
That was some scare! I'm glad it worked out as well as it did. I'll be posting wire photographs from this incident here, if/whenever they show up.
Update 13:11 EST: AllahPundit has an excellent question about this whole event:
Update: How did the hijackers pull this off? Did they claim to have a bomb? According to the pilot, they werenât armed and the passengers were in no danger.
Were the pilots in on it? Or did the hijackers claim to be armed, leading the pilot to make the distinction, perhaps, that they weren't really armed?
Update 14:12 EST: Photos are starting to come across the wires. We've got them here!
Update 18:48 EST: And in an unprecedented surprise ending, we find that (a) there was only one hijacker, and (b), he was a Christian who did not want to serve in Turkey's muslim army. (h/t LGF)
To quote Opie, "Who saw that coming?"
Wow! That's some story!
Blogroll: Hot Air, Right Winged, Mary Katherine Ham, The Political Pitbull, Michelle Malkin, Sweetness & Light
The early reports were mostly file photos. I won't include all of them here, but here's the first one I could find:
FILE - A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 is seen in this undated file photo released by the Turkish Airlines. A Turkish Airlines plane carrying more than 100 passengers from Tirana, Albania, to Istanbul, was hijacked Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, and landed at Italy's Brindisi airport. The plane was hijacked in Greek air space, News reports said the plane was a Boeing 737-400. (AP Photo/Turkish Airlines, HO)
A map sent across the wires:
A Turkish passenger plane flying from the Albanian capital Tirana to Istanbul was hijacked over Greece and later landed in Italy, Greek and Italian officials said on Tuesday. (Graphic/Reuters)
And now, we're being shown the exterior of the hijacked plane. All passengers, crew, and hijackers are still on board pending the completion of negotiations (though it's unclear what exactly they're negotiating, as the hijackers are reportedly unarmed):
A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 plane carrying more than 100 passengers is seen at Brindisi airport, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006. The plane was hijacked in Greek airspace after taking off from Albania and later landed at Italy's Brindisi airport. Italian aviation officials say the apparently unarmed hijackers are in negotiations with Italian authorities for the release of the passengers. (AP Photo/Max Frigione)
A Turkish Airlines plane sits on the runway at the Brindisi airport, October 3, 2006. (Fabio Serino/Reuters)
Brindisi's Chief Prosecutor Giuseppe Giannuzzi (center with glasses) answers newsmen questions in Brindisi, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, when a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 plane carrying more than 100 passengers landed at Brindisi airport after being hijacked in Greek airspace Tuesday. (AP Photo/Francesco Pecoraro)
A passenger of the hijacked Turkish Airlines plane is checked by Italian police at the Brindisi airport in southern Italy October 3, 2006. A Turkish hijacker seeking to communicate with Pope Benedict seized an airliner flying from Albania to Istanbul on Tuesday and diverted it to Italy before surrendering. REUTERS/Fabio Serino (ITALY)
Passengers of the hijacked Turkish Airlines plane are checked by Italian police at the Brindisi airport in southern Italy October 3, 2006. A Turkish hijacker seeking to communicate with Pope Benedict seized an airliner flying from Albania to Istanbul on Tuesday and diverted it to Italy before surrendering. REUTERS/Fabio Serino (ITALY)
Policemen talks to passengers at the Brindisi airport in southern Italy October 3, 2006. A Turkish hijacker seeking to communicate with Pope Benedict seized an airliner flying from Albania to Istanbul on Tuesday and diverted it to Italy before surrendering. REUTERS/Fabio Serino (ITALY)
Passengers of the hijacked Turkish Airlines plane pray at the Brindisi airport in southern Italy October 3, 2006. A Turkish hijacker seeking to communicate with Pope Benedict seized an airliner flying from Albania to Istanbul on Tuesday and diverted it to Italy before surrendering. REUTERS/Fabio Serino (ITALY)
Unidentified passengers of a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 wait at Brindisi airport, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, after their plane, carrying 113 people from Albania to Istanbul was hijacked and forced to land in Italy, where the hijacker surrendered and released all the passengers unharmed, officials said. The Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 was hijacked in Greek airspace after taking off from Albania and landed at Italy's Brindisi airport. (AP Photo/Francesco Pecoraro)
Unidentified passengers of a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 pray at Brindisi airport, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, after their plane, carrying 113 people from Albania to Istanbul was hijacked and forced to land in Italy, where the hijacker surrendered and released all the passengers unharmed, officials said. The Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 was hijacked in Greek airspace after taking off from Albania and landed at Italy's Brindisi airport. (AP Photo/Francesco Pecoraro)
An unidentified passenger, center, of a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 is helped by Italian policemen at Brindisi airport, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, after his jaircraft, carrying more than 113 passengers, landed after follwoing a hijacking in Greek airspace Tuesday. A Turkish man hijacked a jetliner carrying 113 people from Albania to Istanbul on Tuesday and forced the aircraft to land in Italy, where he surrendered and released all the passengers unharmed, officials said.(AP Photo/Francesco Pecoraro)
Unidentified passengers of a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 are assisted by Italian policemen at Brindisi airport, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, after their plane, carrying 113 passengers, landed after being hijacked in Greek airspace Tuesday. A Turkish man hijacked a jetliner carrying 113 people from Albania to Istanbul on Tuesday and forced the aircraft to land in Italy, where he surrendered and released all the passengers unharmed, officials said. (AP Photo/Francesco Pecoraro)
A photo released by Izmir city police department shows Turkish citizen Hakan Ekinci who police identified as one of the two hijackers of a Turkish Airline plane, October 3, 2006. (Izmir City Police Department/Handout/Reuters)
Tags: fabio serino max frigione AP
