Russian Plane Makes Emergency Landing In Prague

The Aeroflot plane at Prague's Ruzyne airport (epa) PRAGUE, December 28, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- An Aeroflot passenger jet flying from Moscow to Geneva made an emergency landing in Prague today, after a passenger became violent on board.

The press secretary of the Russian Embassy in the Czech Republic, Aleksandr Pismenny, told RFE/RL that the aggressor was drunk.

"A drunk passenger -- one of the drunk passengers -- started a brawl and he was tied up by flight attendants with the help of four passengers," Pismenny said. "He was tied up, but because he made threats as he was being pacified, the crew captain made the decision to land the airplane before reaching Geneva."

Aeroflot spokeswoman Irina Danenberg added that the passenger "attempted to get into the cockpit demanding that the aircraft be diverted to Cairo. He was accompanied by a family of nine people, including women and children."


Aeroflot officials said the passenger claimed he was carrying explosives. He was detained by Czech police after the Airbus A-321 landed in Prague.

The plane is expected to resume its fight to Geneva. No passengers or crew were reported harmed in the incident.

Earlier, the CTK news agency quoted Czech Police President Vladislav Husak as saying it was a hijacking, and that one person was detained.

(with material compiled from news agencies)