N2 - 1 Air Hijacking

N2 - 2 Air Hijacking 6:35 – Fifteen minutes after takeoff from Istanbul, Turkish airline flight 27 reports a hijacking takeover. The four hijackers demand that the plane land in Varna, and that a Condor jet be fueled and prepared to carry them onward. They also demand that the mayor of Varna become a hostage and that they be given $2,000,000. Pilot communication is with air traffic control in Istanbul, but there is doubt among authorities about the pilot’s ability to communicate directly.

N2 - 3 Air Hijacking (Cont) 6:50 – The pilot advises air traffic control that the hijackers are demanding to land in 45 minutes at Varna. They are armed and have threatened to kill passengers one at a time if their demands are not met. Airport authorities report that there is a Condor on the ground in Varna but that it has severe mechanical problems that cannot be repaired before the imposed deadline.

N2 - 4 Air Hijacking (Cont) 7:10 – Sofia authorities recommend the plane be allowed to land closer to Frankfurt because of the problems in Varna.

N2 - 5 Air Hijacking (Cont) 7:15 – Ground authorities advise that there are 117 passengers aboard the flight (48 Turks, 52 Germans, with the remainder from European and Asian countries). First speculation is that the hijacking was masterminded by Faruk Wisar, a fundamentalist sentenced to death in Turkey who has been eluding authorities for months. Authorities believe his ultimate destination could be Iran, Iraq, or Afghanistan.