In 1980, a Turkish Airlines flight from Munich to Ankara was hijacked by four militants protesting the recent military coup in Turkey. One of the passengers happened to be war correspondent Coşkun Aral, who convinced the hijackers to let him into the cockpit — and took this now-iconic photo himself.
The man smiling with the gun is one of the hijackers. He pointed the weapon toward the pilot’s neck, and oddly, everyone laughed. According to Aral:
“He pointed the gun at the pilot’s neck, and the guy reacted like he was being tickled. We were all tense, but in that moment, we laughed involuntarily. That laugh showed up in the photo.”
All passengers were safely released. The hijackers were arrested. Aral’s photo became one of the strangest, most human snapshots ever taken in a moment of crisis.
by pessimisttears
7 Comments
Love the humanity in this picture
“This guy eh!”
“You come to our house, you get my wife’s name right!!”
I hear pre-9/11 hijackings used to be a lot more relaxed. Everyone understood the hijackers weren’t looking to go out in a blaze of glory; it was just an avenue to make their political demands. Just stay calm, do as they say, and you should be fine.
The guy with a gun can easily play a middle Eastern bad guy today.
Looks like a good time
Guy from Stranger Things holding a gun.