A man in his 60s went amok on board a commercial airliner as it was flying over the North Sea on Thursday morning, prompting the pilot to make an emergency landing in Stavanger after the man tried to break into the cockpit.
Norwegian police were still gathering details but reported that the incident was not viewed as a hijacking attempt. Rather, the unruly passenger is believed to have been intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
The Wizz Air flight was on its way from Budapest to Reykjavik when the man set off alarms. Wictoria Hillveg of Norway’s Southwest Police District told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that other people on board the flight gained control over the man, the cockpit crew made a sharp turn over the North Sea and landed the flight safely at Stavanger’s Sola Airport shortly after 10am.
Emergency crews quickly gathered to meet the aircraft. Police said the man, a citizen of Iceland, was arrested and taken to the main police station in Stavanger. He claimed he was on medication and had no memory of the incident.
The Wizz Air flight, with 200 passengers on board, departed Stavanger before noon.
newsinenglish.no staff
