Turkish Airlines Flight 1476

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.

Hijacking

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,

An official from Greek Ministry of National Defence said the plane had entered Greek air space at 14:58 (UTC). The...
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