Plane Hijacker Circles Hungary's Paks Nuclear Plant — Gripen Fighters Scrambled to Intercept

In Hungary, a young man hijacked a light aircraft and flew it into restricted airspace over the country's only nuclear power plant, Paks. The incident was confirmed by Hungarian Defence Minister Romulus Ruszin-Szendi on his Facebook page, who said radar systems detected the intruder and two Gripen fighters on standby duty were scrambled to intercept.

According to the minister, the man decided to "try out" a small plane parked in the town of Kalocsa and, without hesitation, took off heading straight for Paks. Radar stations of the Hungarian Defence Forces picked up the aircraft immediately, prompting the emergency launch of the two fighters.

Manoeuvres Over the Nuclear Plant

According to the news portal HVG.hu, the aircraft in question was a Cessna 172. The pilot flew into a strict no-fly zone over the country's sole nuclear power station and carried out manoeuvres in the air. All flights are banned within a three-kilometre radius of the plant and at altitudes up to 6,000 metres.

The outlet reports that the hijacker was a 24-year-old man who appeared confused and disoriented after being apprehended. Just minutes into the chase, the plane made a forced landing near the village of Gerjen — coming down in a sunflower field, damaging its landing gear in the process.

Fighters and Rescuers on Scene

The Gripen pilots spotted the downed aircraft and circled overhead until a rescue helicopter and ground emergency crews arrived. Police also reached the scene, detained the pilot and launched an investigation into the incident.

Notably, this is not the first mishap involving Hungarian Gripens recently: on Monday, one of the fighters crashed near the town of Szolnok in the centre of the country, though its 51-year-old pilot managed to eject safely.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz