Drunk man attempts to hijack Russian plane
Officials said 'mentally ill' man shouted 'Allah Akbar'
A man was detained Friday at a Moscow airport after allegedly threatening to hijack a flight from southern Russia to the capital, Russian news agencies reported.
The low-fare airline Sky Express was carrying 130 passengers when a man shouting "Allah Akbar" demanded the plane from the Black Sea resort of Sochi to Moscow divert to Vienna, a law enforcement source told Interfax news agency.
Later, the news agency quoted a law enforcement source as saying the disruption had been caused by "a drunk passenger who decided he wanted to take control of the plane."
But the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying the man had been identified and it was found he had a record of mental illness.
"The person who threatened to blow up the plane and demanded it change course has been neutralized," a source at Moscow's Vnukovo airport said.
On Oct. 15 a drunken passenger on a Russian-bound Turkish Airlines flight attempted to hijack the flight before he was overpowered by passengers and the incident was quickly ended.