TURKEY SCRAMBLED AN F-16 fighter jet to accompany a passenger plane arriving in Istanbul from Ukraine today after a bomb threat was made by a passenger demanding to go to the Winter Olympics venue of Sochi, Turkish officials said.
Television footage showed the Pegasus Airlines flight from the Ukrainian city of Kharkov arriving in Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport.
“People are still inside but the pilot called security and gave them a signal that they can enter the plane. There is a translator – a Turkish man near the Ukrainian to calm him down,” an airport official said.
The passenger was believed to have drunk alcohol and was calmed down by the crew and persuaded to let the plane, a Boeing 737-800, land in Istanbul at 6:02 pm (1602 GMT), according to Dogan news agency.
An official from Turkey’s transport ministry said there were 110 passengers on board and confirmed that a bomb threat had been made but said the plane had landed safely.
Security teams were continuing inspections on the plane, the ministry said in a statement.
Reporting by Orhan Coskun, Daren Butler and Evrim Ergin; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Dasha Afanasieva and Sonya Hepinstall
Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters/ Click for Restrictions.
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