Man steals plane in Hungary and flies into nuclear plant’s restricted zone before fighter jets respond
Translated from Latvian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
News
Named sources
Outcome reported
- A 24-year-old man took an unattended Cessna 172 from Kalocsa and flew toward the Paks nuclear power plant, entering its restricted zone.
- Two Hungarian Gripen fighter jets tracked the plane after military radars detected it, and the man later made an emergency landing in a sunflower field.
- No one was injured, but the aircraft’s landing gear was damaged; police detained the man and found him intoxicated.
A 24-year-old man in Hungary took an unattended Cessna 172 for what was described as a recreational flight, then flew directly toward the Paks nuclear power plant and entered its restricted zone.
Hungarian military radars detected the aircraft, according to Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi. Two Gripen fighter jets began following it. After several minutes, the man made an emergency landing in a sunflower field.
No one was injured, although the plane’s landing gear was damaged. The fighter jets continued monitoring the aircraft until rescue workers arrived by helicopter and car.
The man asked a passing driver for help and then unsuccessfully tried to steal the driver’s vehicle. Police detained him when they arrived and later found that he was intoxicated.
About this summary
Originally published by Delfi Latvia in Latvian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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