In 2006, a terrifying lapse in aircraft security allowed an unarmed man to hijack a passenger jet with more than 100 passengers aboard. The man strolled from his seat on the Turkish Airlines plane and simply pushed aside a stewardess who had opened the cockpit door to serve drinks to the crew.

He then told the pilot he had accomplices on board who would blow up the plane if his demands were not met. The flight was diverted from Istanbul to Brindisi airport in southern Italy where the hijacker apologised, requested political asylum and was arrested. He turned out to have no weapon or accomplice.

The incident showed that the introduction of locked, reinforced cockpit doors is ineffective unless airline crew follow rigorous drills when opening and closing them.