Co-Pilot Hijacks Plane As Pilot Goes To Toilet

An Ethiopian Airlines co-pilot hijacked his own plane, bound for Rome, and flew it to Geneva where he is now seeking asylum. The man, an Ethiopian, seized control of the Boeing 767 when the Italian pilot went to the toilet. Flight ET702 with 202 passengers and crew on board had taken off from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The rope used by the co-pilot to leave the plane After landing in the Swiss city at about 5am, the co-pilot used a rope to climb down from a cockpit window. He surrendered to police and asked for asylum in Switzerland. Officials said no one on the flight was injured and passengers had not been aware of the hijack.

The path taken by flight ET702. (Pic Flightradar24). Police spokesman Pierre Grangean said: "Just after landing, the co-pilot came out of the cockpit and ran to the police and said, 'I'm the hijacker.' He said he is not safe in his own country and wants asylum." Swiss federal authorities are now investigating the incident and are set to press charges that could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. FlightRadar 24 - an app for mobile devices - showed the flight circling over Geneva several times before landing.

The plane had about 20 minutes of fuel left The Boeing 767-300 plane had 20 minutes of fuel left when it landed. It was eventually guided to the runway by two Italian fighter planes. Robert Deillon, chief executive of Geneva airport, said: "So this co-pilot put in the code for 'I just hijacked the aircraft'. As the plane was over Italy at the time, two Italian Eurofighters were scrambled to accompany it." Sky's Harriet Hadfield, in Geneva, said the airport had not yet opened when the plane hit the runway - and passengers had to wait until it did before disembarking.

The plane had been on its way to Rome when it was hijacked She said: "It must have been a very terrifying experience for the passengers on board. "It seems to have been the case that passengers had to wait until the airport opened. Happily there are no injuries but it must have been a very, very frightening experience." On why the co-pilot might have been seeking asylum, Human Rights Watch says Ethiopia's human rights record "has sharply deteriorated" over the years. There were numerous hijackings with asylum demands during the 1990s. news.sky.com