Turkish Airlines Flight 1476
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Turkish Airlines Flight 1476 (TK1476) was a
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
Boeing 737-4Y0 flying from Tirana to Istanbul that was
hijacked Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...
by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace on 3 October 2006. Ekinci demanded to go to Rome to speak with the Pope, but Greek and Italian
F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
jets intercepted and escorted the aircraft until it landed in
Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...
, 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 ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
to Turkey, but later, it was ascertained that Ekinci was seeking to request political asylum from Italy. On 4 October, a Turkish Airlines plane was sent to take the other passengers to Istanbul.


Hijacking

On 3 October 2006, the Boeing 737-4Y0 took off from
Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
bound for
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. It was hijacked by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace at 14:58 UTC and was intercepted and forced by Italian
F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
interceptor jets to land at the southern Italian Adriatic port city of
Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...
. 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 A transponder (short for ''trans''mitter-res''ponder'' and sometimes abbreviated to XPDR, XPNDR, TPDR or TP) is an electronic device that produces a response when it receives a radio-frequency interrogation. Aircraft have transponders to assist ...
twice at 14:55 (UTC), while the aircraft was cruising about 25 kilometres (15 mi) north of
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
. Italian Interior Minister
Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Later, he was Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted t ...
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 the Pope, and Italian Minister of the Interior
Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Later, he was Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted t ...
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". 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.


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 Güler Muammer Güler (born 21 March 1949) is a Turkish politician. He is a member of parliament from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He was formerly the Governor of Istanbul Province and the Minister of the Interior under Prime Minister Rece ...
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
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
"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 Cemil Çiçek (; born 15 November 1946) is a Turkish politician who was the Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey between 4 July 2011 and 7 June 2015. Previously he was Minister of Justice from 2002 to 2007 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2007 to ...
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 The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
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
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
, who has offended many
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
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 A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
, first information about hijacking incident were retrieved via
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
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 The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
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 (born 21 March 1949) is a Turkish politician. He is a member of parliament from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He was formerly the Governor of Istanbul Province and the Minister of the Interior under Prime Minister Rece ...
reported that, Ekinci, who has been identified as a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
convert by the Turkish media and by chief prosecutor Giuseppe Giannuzzi's reporting near Lecce, is a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and has dodged his military
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
. He left Istanbul on 6 May 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 1 September on the draft-dodging charge. Pope Benedict XVI visited
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, Istanbul, and
Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
as a guest of the Turkish
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Ahmet Necdet Sezer Ahmet Necdet Sezer (; born 13 September 1941) is a Turkish statesman and judge who served as the tenth president of Turkey from 2000 to 2007. Previously he was president of the Constitutional Court of Turkey from 1998 to 2002. The Grand Nationa ...
between 28 November and 1 December 2006.
Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...
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 4 October, a Turkish Airlines
Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
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.


References

{{Turkish Airlines Aircraft hijackings Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Classic Aviation accidents and incidents in Greece Aviation accidents and incidents in 2006
1476 Year 1476 ( MCDLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 1 – Battle of Toro (War of the Castilian Succession): Although militarily ...
Terrorist incidents in Europe in 2006 Italy–Turkey relations October 2006 events in Europe Terrorist incidents in Greece Terrorist incidents in Greece in the 2000s 2006 in Greece 2006 crimes in Greece