The Hungarian military scrambled two Gripen fighter jets after a light aircraft, reportedly stolen from the airfield in Kalocsa, set course for the Paks Nuclear Power Station. Shortly afterwards, the aircraft made an emergency landing in the Gerjen area. Defence Minister Romulus Rusin-Sandy reported that, according to the information available at the time, no one had been injured.
Briefly about the main points
- The military detected the light aircraft on radar after it had taken off.
- Two Gripen fighter jets were deployed as part of the response.
- The aeroplane made an emergency landing in the Gerien area.
- The damaged vessel was monitored from the air until the emergency services arrived.
- The police are investigating the circumstances of the hijacking and the flight.
Special flight procedures are in force around the station
According to Rusina-Sandy, The Hungarian Defence Forces detected the aircraft on radar shortly after take-off and immediately scrambled a pair of fighter jets Gripen. The Paks Nuclear Power Station is subject to special security measures, so the aircraft’s approach to the site required an immediate response from the military.
Civil aircraft are prohibited from entering the zone with a radius of three kilometres around the station at an altitude below 6,000 metres.
The minister described the alert as unusual and stated that the incident had demonstrated the defence forces’ readiness to detect an airborne target, respond, identify it and provide assistance after it had landed.
The plane made an emergency landing near Gerien
The flight came to an end a few minutes later when the light aircraft made an emergency landing near Gerien. The Gripen aircraft located the damaged aircraft and remained in the area until the arrival of a rescue helicopter and ground emergency services.
The police and other relevant services also arrived at the scene. They carried out an inspection and began investigating the circumstances of the incident. According to the minister, there were no reports of injuries at the time of his statement.
The Hungarian publication HVG reported that the aircraft in question was a Cessna 172, which was allegedly taken from the airfield by a pilot born in 2002. According to the publication, the man was in an unstable condition. During landing, the aircraft’s landing gear reportedly broke, causing the plane to come to a halt on its wing, tilted to one side. Initial reports gave differing descriptions of the field where it landed: some described it as a sunflower field, others as a maize field.
