VZCZCXRO3568
PP RUEHDA RUEHNP
DE RUEHAK #0862 1030459
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130459Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1708
INFO RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1856
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2520
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 7980
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6656
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 6630
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 0266
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 5369
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 0013
RUEHBS/FAA BRUSSELS BE

UNCLAS ANKARA 000862 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FAA BRUSSELS FOR KURT EDWARDS 
PARIS PLEASE PASS TSA FOR NOURI LARBI 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12356:N/A 
TAGS: PTER EAIR ASEC CASC TU
SUBJECT: HIJACKING OF TURKISH AIRLINER ON APRIL 10 
 
¶1.  (U) On April 10, a Boeing 737 owned by private 
Turkish airline Pegasus heading to Istanbul from 
Diyarbakir was hijacked 25 minutes after takeoff. 
The hijacker, Mehmet Goksingol, told crew members 
he would explode a cell-phone activated bomb in a 
package he had with him if the plane did not take 
him to Iran.  The crew helped the hijacker 
communicate with the pilots without letting him 
in the cockpit, and the pilots were able to 
convince him that they did not have sufficient 
fuel to take the plane to Iran. 
(The cockpit door remained locked at all times.) 
The hijacker agreed to stop in Ankara to refuel, 
where he turned himself in to the police forces 
that boarded the plane.  According to press reports, 
Goksingol told police he hijacked the plane 
because he had a dream about a plane crash and 
wanted to prevent this by hijacking the plane. 
The press reported that Goksingol had a history 
of mental problems and a sizeable criminal record. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Deputy Director General for Civil Aviation 
(DGCA) Haydar Yalcin, confirmed press reports on the 
hijacking.  He said the plane carried 178 passengers, 
none of whom were American citizens.  Yalcin told us 
the incident was handled very professionally from the 
start, with all parties involved taking the right 
steps.  He noted that the hijacker did not have any 
material he was not allowed to carry on board, 
including the explosives he claimed to have.  Yalcin 
added that the crew was also successful in not 
opening the cockpit door, and convincing the hijacker 
to land in Ankara.  Yalcin said the passenger had a 
criminal record, including narcotics crimes, and said 
they believed he was under the influence of drugs at 
the time he hijacked the plane. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Our Turkish National Police (TNP) contacts 
separately confirmed the course of events as reported 
by the press.  They added that the hijacker was 
undergoing tests to determine if he used drugs before 
hijacking the plane.  They told us he had a criminal 
record of nine arrests, none of which was for terrorist 
crimes.  Police do not believe the hijacker has any 
affiliation with the terrorist organization PKK. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Comment:  Turkey has experienced similar 
hijacking scenarios in recent years.  Given that no 
explosives or arms have been found on the hijackers,it 
appears that GOT authorities have been doing a good 
job in implementing security screening.  Our 
observation with regard to this last incident was 
that it was handled professionally, and all related 
agencies took timely and correct action to minimize risks. 
 
 
WILSON