Turkish Airlines Flight 1476
Encyclopedia
Turkish Airlines Flight 1476 (TK1476) was a Turkish Airlines
flight that was hijacked
by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace on October 3, 2006. Ekinci wanted to go to Rome to speak with the Pope, but Greek and Italian F-16 Fighting Falcon
jets intercepted and escorted the aircraft until it landed in Brindisi
, Italy. Nobody was harmed, and Ekinci was jailed in Italy while awaiting trial. At first, the hijacking incident was linked with the envisaged visit of Pope Benedict XVI
to Turkey, but later it was ascertained that Ekinci was seeking to request political asylum from Italy. On October 4, a Turkish Airlines plane was sent to take the passengers back to Istanbul.
The plane was flying from Tirana
, Albania
to Istanbul
, Turkey
on October 3, 2006. It was hijacked by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace at 14:58 UTC
and was intercepted and forced by Italian F-16 Fighting Falcon
interceptor jets to land at the southern Italian Adriatic port city of Brindisi. There were 113 people on board: 107 passengers and six crew members. At first it was reported that there were two hijackers, but later it was confirmed that the sole hijacker lied about the existence of an accomplice.
An official from Greek Ministry of National Defence
said the plane had entered Greek air space at 14:58 (UTC). The pilots transmitted the hijack squawk code twice at 14:55 (UTC), while the aircraft was cruising about 25 kilometres (15 mi) north of Thessaloniki
. Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato
reported that the hijacker slipped into the cockpit with a package which could have been a bomb when flight attendants opened the cockpit door, and the pilots acted according to the international rules in the matter and did what the hijacker wanted. The flight's captain reported in Istanbul that "while the chief stewardess entered the cockpit to ask if we needed anything, the terrorist entered by force. I tried to push him out but he was a big man and I failed to stop him". The captain went on to say that the hijacker said he had three friends and they had explosives. He wanted to go Rome to speak with Pope, and Amoto reported that, the hijacker added there are other hijackers on another unspecified plane, "would blow that plane up if the missive didn't get to the pope". The captain reported to the air-traffic controller in Thessaloniki that "he had two undesirables who wished to go to Italy to see the Pope and to give him a message". Four Greek F-16 fighter jets took off and accompanied the plane until it left Greek airspace. Once in Italian airspace, two Italian F-16s intercepted, escorted, and forced it to land in Brindisi Airport
in Brindisi. The airline spokesman said that Greek officials had alerted their Italian counterparts about the hijacking incident.
reported that the hijacker Ekinci lied to the airliner's pilots that he had at least one accomplice.
"they will request political asylum". In an interview with reporters, a fire rescue official said "The two hijackers want to speak to journalists so they can send a message to the Pope and explain why they did this." Amoto reported that the hijacker wanted to deliver a message for Pope Benedict XVI, but stated he did not have a written letter.
Hijacker Hakan Ekinci's protest took six hours, and after his surrender the hijacker apologized to the captain and shook his hand; he also apologized to the passengers. CNN Türk
reported that there were 107 passengers, 80 of them Albanian and five Turkish.
After the incident a Tirana airport video was released to Reuters showing Ekinci being checked by security. He was body searched and passed through a metal detector, then removed his belt, sweater, and emptied his pockets, but was cleared to proceed to his flight.
Ekinci was arrested in Italy after interrogation. Turkish Minister of Justice Cemil Çiçek
reported that there would not be a direct return request to the Italian Ministry of Justice until the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and Ministry of Internal Affairs had completed their work on the subject. They then requested the return of Ekinci. Giuseppe Giannuzzi, prosecutor of the hijacking incident, said to The Associated Press in an interview that the hijacker will remain in jail until the end of the trial which will presumably take two years after inception. Giannuzzi has charged Ekinci with hijacking and considered other charges like terrorism and kidnapping, if Ekinci is sentenced for hijacking he will be imprisoned for 7 to 21 years.
Benedict XVI
, who has offended many Muslims
with a recent speech
linking the spread of the Islamic faith to violence. But later it was reported that the hijacker sought political asylum in Italy due to his conscientious objection to serving in the military.
At first, Turkish media reported that there were two hijackers, Hakan Ekinci and Mehmet Ertaş, but later it was ascertained that Ekinci was alone and Ertaş was innocent. According to the report of Turkey's Ministry of Justice, first information about hijacking incident were retrieved via Interpol
and authorities reported Ertaş's name as hijacker based on Interpol's report but after more investigations it was ascertained that Ertaş was innocent.
Turkish officials reported the hijacker's name as Hakan Ekinci, born in 1978 in Buca
, who is known to have written a letter to the Pope
in August 2006. He wrote, "I am a Christian and don't want to serve a Muslim army". He also wrote that he had been attending church since 1998. Istanbul Governor Muammer Güler
reported that, Ekinci, who has been identified as a Christian
convert by the Turkish media and by chief prosecutor Giuseppe Giannuzzi's reporting near Lecce, is a conscientious objector
Catholic
and has dodged
his military conscription
. He left Istanbul on May 6, 2006 and had gone to Albania. Turkey's Consulate General in Tirana then filed for his deportation. If he had landed in Turkey, Hakan Ekinci was certain to be interned as a draft-dodger, since the Consulate had reported the order for his deportation to the police at Atatürk International Airport
. Authorities had been investigating him since September 1 on the draft-dodging charge.
Pope Benedict XVI visited Ankara
, Istanbul, and Ephesus
as a guest of the Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
between November 28 and December 1, 2006. Vatican City
officials reported that the Pope was informed of the hijacking incident but the preparations for his trip would not be affected.
, was sent from Turkey to bring the passengers back to Istanbul. The plane departed from Brindisi Airport at 4:15 (UTC) and landed in Istanbul at 5:40 (UTC) with 105 passengers, with the exception of the hijacker who had been arrested in Brindisi, and a passenger who wanted to remain in Italy.
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey, headquartered in the Turkish Airlines General Management Building on the grounds of Atatürk Airport in Yeşilköy, Bakirköy district, Istanbul...
flight that was hijacked
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace on October 3, 2006. Ekinci wanted to go to Rome to speak with the Pope, but Greek and Italian F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
jets intercepted and escorted the aircraft until it landed in Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
, Italy. Nobody was harmed, and Ekinci was jailed in Italy while awaiting trial. At first, the hijacking incident was linked with the envisaged visit of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
to Turkey, but later it was ascertained that Ekinci was seeking to request political asylum from Italy. On October 4, a Turkish Airlines plane was sent to take the passengers back to Istanbul.
Hijacking
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
on October 3, 2006. It was hijacked by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace at 14:58 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
and was intercepted and forced by Italian F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
interceptor jets to land at the southern Italian Adriatic port city of Brindisi. There were 113 people on board: 107 passengers and six crew members. At first it was reported that there were two hijackers, but later it was confirmed that the sole hijacker lied about the existence of an accomplice.
An official from Greek Ministry of National Defence
Ministry of National Defence (Greece)
The Hellenic Ministry of National Defense , is the civilian cabinet organization responsible for managing the Military of Greece...
said the plane had entered Greek air space at 14:58 (UTC). The pilots transmitted the hijack squawk code twice at 14:55 (UTC), while the aircraft was cruising about 25 kilometres (15 mi) north of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...
reported that the hijacker slipped into the cockpit with a package which could have been a bomb when flight attendants opened the cockpit door, and the pilots acted according to the international rules in the matter and did what the hijacker wanted. The flight's captain reported in Istanbul that "while the chief stewardess entered the cockpit to ask if we needed anything, the terrorist entered by force. I tried to push him out but he was a big man and I failed to stop him". The captain went on to say that the hijacker said he had three friends and they had explosives. He wanted to go Rome to speak with Pope, and Amoto reported that, the hijacker added there are other hijackers on another unspecified plane, "would blow that plane up if the missive didn't get to the pope". The captain reported to the air-traffic controller in Thessaloniki that "he had two undesirables who wished to go to Italy to see the Pope and to give him a message". Four Greek F-16 fighter jets took off and accompanied the plane until it left Greek airspace. Once in Italian airspace, two Italian F-16s intercepted, escorted, and forced it to land in Brindisi Airport
Brindisi Airport
Papola Casale Airport , also known as Aeroporto del Salento, is an airport near Brindisi in southern Italy.-Airlines and destinations:-External links:**...
in Brindisi. The airline spokesman said that Greek officials had alerted their Italian counterparts about the hijacking incident.
Passenger accounts
Passengers said that the hijacker used no violence. Sabri Abazi, an Albanian member of parliament, who was a passenger on the flight, spoke to ANSA news agency by mobile phone on board. Abazi said that there was one hijacker in the cockpit and another in the cabin, and added that he saw no weapons. Passenger Ergün Erköseoğlu said "I didn't see any suspicious behaviour of the hijacker. Airplane took off and after 20 minutes later, captain announced that due to technical malfunction we would land in Italy instead of Istanbul". Aviation authorities said that after all the passengers had left the plane, police questioned the hijacker. Abazi said that he saw only one hijacker but had been told by a flight attendant that there were two hijackers on board. Istanbul Governor Muammer GülerMuammer Güler
Muammer Güler is a Turkish civil servant and was previously the governor of Istanbul Province.-Biography:Güler was born in Mardin, Turkey. He completed his primary education in Ankara and graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ankara in 1972. Güler began his career as candidate...
reported that the hijacker Ekinci lied to the airliner's pilots that he had at least one accomplice.
Upon landing
Italian police, military, and fire brigade vehicles surrounded the plane and the Italian news agency ANSA reported that police detained both hijackers. Brindisi Police Chief, Salvatore De Paolis, told ReutersReuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
"they will request political asylum". In an interview with reporters, a fire rescue official said "The two hijackers want to speak to journalists so they can send a message to the Pope and explain why they did this." Amoto reported that the hijacker wanted to deliver a message for Pope Benedict XVI, but stated he did not have a written letter.
Hijacker Hakan Ekinci's protest took six hours, and after his surrender the hijacker apologized to the captain and shook his hand; he also apologized to the passengers. CNN Türk
CNN Turk
CNN Türk is the Turkish version of the popular cable news channel CNN. CNN Türk is a nationwide channel broadcasting exclusively in Turkey, owned by Time Warner and Doğan Medya Grubu, broadcasting since October 11, 1999. It has its headquarters in Istanbul....
reported that there were 107 passengers, 80 of them Albanian and five Turkish.
After the incident a Tirana airport video was released to Reuters showing Ekinci being checked by security. He was body searched and passed through a metal detector, then removed his belt, sweater, and emptied his pockets, but was cleared to proceed to his flight.
Ekinci was arrested in Italy after interrogation. Turkish Minister of Justice Cemil Çiçek
Cemil Çiçek
Cemil Çiçek is a Turkish politician who is the current Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey since July 4, 2011. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey and Justice and Development Party Member of Parliament from Ankara. He was formerly Minister of Justice and government spokesman.-Early...
reported that there would not be a direct return request to the Italian Ministry of Justice until the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and Ministry of Internal Affairs had completed their work on the subject. They then requested the return of Ekinci. Giuseppe Giannuzzi, prosecutor of the hijacking incident, said to The Associated Press in an interview that the hijacker will remain in jail until the end of the trial which will presumably take two years after inception. Giannuzzi has charged Ekinci with hijacking and considered other charges like terrorism and kidnapping, if Ekinci is sentenced for hijacking he will be imprisoned for 7 to 21 years.
Possible motives
Several theories have emerged as to the motives for the hijacking. At first Turkish media reported police sources as saying the hijacking was in protest at the envisaged visit of PopePope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, who has offended many Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
with a recent speech
Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy
The Regensburg lecture was delivered on 12 September 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where he had once served as a professor of theology. It was entitled "Glaube, Vernunft und Universität — Erinnerungen und Reflexionen"...
linking the spread of the Islamic faith to violence. But later it was reported that the hijacker sought political asylum in Italy due to his conscientious objection to serving in the military.
At first, Turkish media reported that there were two hijackers, Hakan Ekinci and Mehmet Ertaş, but later it was ascertained that Ekinci was alone and Ertaş was innocent. According to the report of Turkey's Ministry of Justice, first information about hijacking incident were retrieved via Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
and authorities reported Ertaş's name as hijacker based on Interpol's report but after more investigations it was ascertained that Ertaş was innocent.
Turkish officials reported the hijacker's name as Hakan Ekinci, born in 1978 in Buca
Buca
Buca is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey. It is one of the main districts of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.Buca was one of the preferred settlement areas of İzmir's community of Levantines...
, who is known to have written a letter to the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
in August 2006. He wrote, "I am a Christian and don't want to serve a Muslim army". He also wrote that he had been attending church since 1998. Istanbul Governor Muammer Güler
Muammer Güler
Muammer Güler is a Turkish civil servant and was previously the governor of Istanbul Province.-Biography:Güler was born in Mardin, Turkey. He completed his primary education in Ankara and graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ankara in 1972. Güler began his career as candidate...
reported that, Ekinci, who has been identified as a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
convert by the Turkish media and by chief prosecutor Giuseppe Giannuzzi's reporting near Lecce, is a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and has dodged
Draft dodger
Draft evasion is a term that refers to an intentional failure to comply with the military conscription policies of the nation to which he or she is subject...
his military conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
. He left Istanbul on May 6, 2006 and had gone to Albania. Turkey's Consulate General in Tirana then filed for his deportation. If he had landed in Turkey, Hakan Ekinci was certain to be interned as a draft-dodger, since the Consulate had reported the order for his deportation to the police at Atatürk International Airport
Atatürk International Airport
Atatürk International Airport is the major international airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Opened in 1924 and located in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is west of the city centre. In 1980, the airport was renamed to Atatürk International Airport in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the...
. Authorities had been investigating him since September 1 on the draft-dodging charge.
Pope Benedict XVI visited Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Istanbul, and Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
as a guest of the Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Ahmet Necdet Sezer
- External links :* , Presidency of the Republic of Turkey...
between November 28 and December 1, 2006. Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
officials reported that the Pope was informed of the hijacking incident but the preparations for his trip would not be affected.
Passengers’ compensation flight
Although the hijacker was found to have acted alone, Italian police took statements from passengers and searched the aircraft and baggage for a possible accomplice, and due to this process, passengers stayed in Italy during the night. On October 4, a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
, was sent from Turkey to bring the passengers back to Istanbul. The plane departed from Brindisi Airport at 4:15 (UTC) and landed in Istanbul at 5:40 (UTC) with 105 passengers, with the exception of the hijacker who had been arrested in Brindisi, and a passenger who wanted to remain in Italy.
Notable passengers
- Sabri Abazi – Albanian member of parliament.
- Ginger Conejero – 2006 Miss Globe InternationalMiss Globe InternationalMiss Globe Organisation is an international beauty pageant group founded in 1925, which owns the rights to various titles, including "Miss Globe", "Miss Globe International", "Miss Globe Beauty Pageant", and "Miss Globe Beauty"...
participant (Miss Philippines). - Angie Goh – 2006 Miss Globe International participant (Miss Malaysia).
- Kanksha Mehta – 2006 Miss Globe International participant (Miss India).
- Mia Yan Tan – 2006 Miss Globe International participant (Miss Singapore).