Initial reports said that the Turkish Airlines flight between the Turkish resort of Antalya and St. Petersburg had been seized by terrorists. However, the lone "hijacker" was later reported to be a drunk Russian man, subsequently identified as Yashar Pashaoglu, 52.
While the plane was flying over the Black Sea, the man of Uzbek origin, who has dual Russian-Turkish citizenship, was reported to have handed a note to a stewardess threatening to blow the plane up unless it flew to Strasbourg.
The plane, carrying 164 passengers, mostly Russians, and seven crew members, landed safely in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, with some reports claiming, however, that another passenger had overpowered the culprit, binding his hands and shutting him in the lavatory.
Komsomolskaya Pravda said Pashaoglu is an "eccentric poet" who writes in Russian and Turkish, and is well-known to the Russian police and mental health authorities, namely for his attempt in 2005 to burn himself alive on Red Square.
Russian prosecutors sent a request to the St. Petersburg regional court to remand Pashaoglu in custody on charges of hijacking. "The court upheld the request," a spokesman said.
The suspect faces up to 12 years in prison if judged sane and responsible for his actions.
