S External Hijacking

S A Turkish airlines flight on a routine domestic flight from Istanbul to Sofia, Bulgaria, aborts its landing at Sofia and over-flys the city. 7 pm – Pilots requests over flight permission of Macedonia to proceed in a circular route to Thessalonica in Greece. He adds that his flight is under the control of hijackers who are threatening to blow up the plane with 62 passengers and a crew of 6 unless he follows orders.

S :05 – Pilot explains that he is proceeding in the general direction of Skopje, and will turn south toward Thessalonica.

S :08 – Greek control tower at Thessalonica informs pilot that they deny permission to land and are placing trucks on the runway.

S :12 – Turkish Embassy advises Macedonian counterparts that those holding the hostages are from a radical splinter group who are fugitives and extremely dangerous. They apparently have ties in Afghanistan.

S :20 – The pilot calls and turns the mike over to the hi jack leader who demands permission to land in 25 minutes at Skopje. Failure to assent will result in the deaths of many passengers and crew.

S :25 – The hijacker calls again; he demands upon landing, a long-range jet fueled to go 4,000 miles, opportunity to negotiate personally with the Interior Minister, and $1 million dollars. He adds that the German Ambassador to Sofia is a passenger.

S :30 – Police rapid reaction force needs “a few minutes more” to reach the airport, but a significant police force has been mobilized.

S :35 – The tower from the airfield calls in and advises that the hijacked plane is about 10 minutes out and descending. Air control and police on the scene request orders.