Aeroflot SU1515 Passenger Shapovalov Charged With Hijacking Plane - Russian Investigators

Pavel Shapovalov, the man who had sabotaged Aeroflot's SU1515 flight, has been charged with hijacking an aircraft, the Russian Investigative Committee said Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2019) Pavel Shapovalov, the man who had sabotaged Aeroflot's SU1515 flight, has been charged with hijacking an aircraft, the Russian Investigative Committee said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Aeroflot's plane that was following from the Siberian city of Surgut to Moscow made an emergency landing at the airport of Khanty-Mansiysk after Shapovalov had attempted to enter the cockpit and demanded to change the route. No weapons or explosives were found on board. A source told Sputnik that the man was drunk.

"The Russian Investigative Committee charged 41-year-old Pavel Shapovalov with hijacking an aircraft.

In the coming days the investigation is planning to request the court to elect a preventive measure in the form of detention," Svetlana Petrenko, the spokeswoman for the committee, said.

Petrenko also refuted claims that Shapovalov was drunk.

"According to the results of a medical examination, no drugs, psychotropic substances or alcohol were found in Shapovalov's blood. However, given the inadequacy of his behavior on board of the aircraft and severity of the offense, the suspect was assigned a psychological-psychiatric examination," the spokeswoman added.