A Russian passenger plane was hijacked Thursday by two unidentified men after takeoff from Istanbul's airport, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Private television NTV said the plane, on a scheduled flight from Istanbul to Moscow, was apparently headed to Cairo.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/worl...Hijacking.html


Turkey's Oksuz said the aircraft reported it had been hijacked at 6:57 a.m. EST. Shortly afterwards one member of the crew was slightly injured in a struggle.

The plane lost 1,300 feet in altitude at one point but there was no danger from that, he said. ``There are claims that bombs are on board, but it's not possible to say whether there are bombs or not,'' Oksuz said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the hijack and there was no confirmation the hijackers were Chechens.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world...l-hijack-.html

Hijacked Russian Plane Lands in Saudi Arabia
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world...ia-medina.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 03-15-2001).]