A man who allegedly commandeered a Turkish jetliner Tuesday by threatening to set off a bomb was detained after the plane landed in Ankara, but no explosives were found, authorities said.
Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said a passenger announced he had a bomb after the Pegasus airline Boeing 737 took off from Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast.
The man, identified as Mehmet Goksin Gol, 39, initially said he wanted the plane diverted to the capital, Ankara, but changed his mind and demanded it fly to Tehran, Iran, Yildirim said. But the pilots landed at Ankara and the man gave himself up about 40 minutes later.
Yildirim said the man did not make any political demands and the reason for the hijacking was still under investigation.
No injuries were reported among the 178 passengers and six crew members.
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