Gunman Steals Plane, Threatens to Crash into Frankfurt Bank

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 06, 2003

Gunman Steals Plane, Threatens to Crash into Frankfurt Bank

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A man stole a small aircraft at gunpoint Sunday and flew it over downtown Frankfurt, circling skyscrapers and threatening to crash into the European Central Bank. He landed safely after about two hours and was arrested.

The man told a television station he wanted to call attention to Judith Resnik, a U.S. astronaut killed in the 1986 post-launch explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.

Military jets chased the stolen, two-seat motorized glider as the man began circling slowly above Frankfurt's banking district.

Thousands of people were evacuated from the main railway station, two opera houses and several skyscrapers �� the latter mostly empty on a Sunday afternoon at the end of the Christmas season.

Police identified the man as a 31-year-old German from Darmstadt, a city some 25 miles south of Frankfurt. Television and radio stations named him as Franz-Stephan Strambach, a student.

In radio contact with air traffic controllers, the man threatened to crash into the European Central Bank headquarters unless he was allowed the TV interview as well as a call to Baltimore. He later said he wanted to commit suicide by plunging the plane into the Main River.

Police also said the man had identified the Central Bank headquarters as a possible target. A police helicopter was sent up to try to force the plane away from the city. The German air force sent two Phantom jets roaring back and forth across the evening sky.

Central Bank spokeswoman Regina Schueller said security officers evacuated about 10 employees from their offices. The bank's president, Wim Duisenberg, was not in the building.

Though the man told n-tv he didn't want to harm anyone, he threatened to commit suicide once his fuel ran out. He landed at 5:11 p.m. at Frankfurt's international airport, where flights were halted during the drama.

It was unclear if the man was forced to land, or talked down. Air traffic controllers and a police psychologist had been in contact with him.

The plane was a single-engine, Austrian-made Super Dimona motorized glider and belonged to the Babenhausen flying club, a club spokesman said.

Source: Agencies

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