# Mad at the Pope? Hijack a Plane! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 3, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127 "2006-10-03T17:43:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/1 "2006-10-03T17:43:26Z")
[WTF? How the hell is this supposed to help your case that the Pope’s an asshat?](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5403976.stm) > [@](#): > > A Turkish airliner flying from Tirana to Istanbul has been hijacked and flown to Brindisi in southern Italy in an apparent protest against the Pope. > > It sent out an SOS twice in Greek airspace, and both Greece and Italy scrambled fighter jets to escort it before it landed in Brindisi. > > All of the Turkish Airlines plane’s 107 passengers are said to be unhurt. > > Talks are under way with the two hijackers who appear to be protesting about a planned papal visit to Turkey. Why the hell didn’t the passengers beat the shit out of these assholes? Because they said that they _weren’t_ gong to do anything if their demands were? Uh, call me crazy, but somehow, I _don’t_ think that if the hijackers were planning on flying the plane into a building they’d get up and say, “We’re going to hijack this place and fly it into the Vatican because we’re mad at the Pope! He thinks Islam is a violent religion, well, we’ll show him that it’s _not!_” ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/2 "2006-10-03T17:47:35Z")
Let’s see… 1. Hijack a plane full of people you think the Pope has insulted 2. Time in Turkish prison 3. Hi Opal 4. 5. 6. Profit??? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/3 "2006-10-03T17:49:52Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] 6) Profit??? [/QUOTE] Just wait till they sell the movie rights. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/4 "2006-10-03T18:10:01Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Why the hell didn’t the passengers beat the shit out of these assholes? [/QUOTE] Your link says they were not aware it was a hijacking. I’m a little confused: the hijackers are said to be unarmed, so how did they take over the plane/make the pilots change course? There were only two of them. I’m actually glad the passengers didn’t do anything that could have made this worse, and that the fighter jets took care of things. But I’d like to know more about what went on up there. And obviously, these hijacker guys are assholes, and not just because they’re misguided religious dopes wearing tracksuits. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/5 "2006-10-03T19:06:21Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I’m a little confused: the hijackers are said to be unarmed, so how did they take over the plane/make the pilots change course? [/QUOTE] This is the part I don’t get. Two unarmed people hijack a plane? I’m very interested in finding out how that works. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/6 "2006-10-03T19:10:08Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Your link says they were not aware it was a hijacking. I’m a little confused: the hijackers are said to be unarmed, so how did they take over the plane/make the pilots change course? There were only two of them. I’m actually glad the passengers didn’t do anything that could have made this worse, and that the fighter jets took care of things. But I’d like to know more about what went on up there. And obviously, these hijacker guys are assholes, and not just because they’re misguided religious dopes wearing tracksuits. [/QUOTE] Assholes they may be, but they are apparently very persuasive assholes. Perhaps they have a future in politics? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/7 "2006-10-03T20:31:50Z")
Yeah, I’m not the bravest person in the world … _ **HOWEVER** _, if I were in similar circumstances, I’d at least be yelling “hey remember Tuesday Sept 11, 2001 ??? How do we KNOW these guys aren’t going to do the same damned thing ???” If nothing else, I thought people would have learned that by now. Call me narrow-minded, bigoted, anti-Islamic, whatever - but the thought of people intentionally flying planes into buildings has certainly changed my view of the world. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/8 "2006-10-03T22:30:31Z")
[QUOTE=Cheesesteak] This is the part I don’t get. Two unarmed people hijack a plane? I’m very interested in finding out how that works. [/QUOTE] Well, your typical hijacker CLAIMS to have a gun or a bomb. Surprisingly a lot of them don’t. But I’m just guessin’. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/9 "2006-10-03T22:42:24Z")
[QUOTE=Cheesesteak] This is the part I don’t get. Two unarmed people hijack a plane? I’m very interested in finding out how that works. [/QUOTE] The two people were Chuck Norris and Mr. T. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/10 "2006-10-03T22:50:59Z")
It now appears that the hijacker was Turkish and had been on the run after deserting from the Turkish Army. He converted to christianity and said he could no longer serve in a Muslim army. At the moment there only appears to have been one hijacker, not two. More [here.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5403976.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/11 "2006-10-03T23:42:33Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Well, your typical hijacker CLAIMS to have a gun or a bomb. Surprisingly a lot of them don’t. [/QUOTE] That’d make sense, although if that’s the case, it’s surprising that nobody has come out and said he made a bomb threat. Apparently the one hijacker (Hakan Ekinci) said there were two people, and is seeking political asylum in addition to wanting to deliver a message to the Pope. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/12 "2006-10-04T00:52:50Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] The two people were Chuck Norris and Mr. T. [/QUOTE] Aha!, so while the first gave a round-plane kick to the passengers the other pitied the pilots into submission. All clear now. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/13 "2006-10-04T06:18:02Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Your link says they were not aware it was a hijacking. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure I buy that, I mean at some point somebody had to turn to the person next to them and say, “Akmed, I don’t think we’re in Turkey in any more.” Not to mention the sudden appearance of Greek and Italian fighter jets off the wings. I can’t imagine Turkey would sit idly by if a couple of Greek fighters showed up in their airspace, ya know? (What with that whole nastiness over Cyprus and all.) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/14 "2006-10-04T13:14:30Z")
[QUOTE=rayh] It now appears that the hijacker was Turkish and had been on the run after deserting from the Turkish Army. He converted to christianity and said he could no longer serve in a Muslim army. [/QUOTE] Apparently he either converted to or was born into Total Moron Without a Clue. Turkey’s been a secular state for a while now. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/15 "2006-10-04T13:24:13Z")
Well, they could take over the plane, even without weapons, if they’d only thought to bring… Wait for it… Snakes. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/16 "2006-10-04T14:45:48Z")
Unarmed lest you underestimate the power of persuasion. This hijacker must be in sales. He must be. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-at-the-pope-hijack-a-plane/375127/17 "2006-10-04T19:41:48Z")
Amazing. This is the first hijacking of a plane in five years. Incredible.