Budapest, Aug. 31 – Hungary scrambled JAS 39 Gripen C fighters after a man stole a Cessna 172 from Kalocsa Airport and headed toward the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. Hungarian Defense Forces detected the aircraft on radar shortly after takeoff and immediately launched a pair of fighter jets. The incident ended within several minutes with an emergency landing near Gerjen village.
Hungarian Gripen fighters located the damaged Cessna 172 and remained overhead until a rescue helicopter and emergency services arrived. Police inspected the scene and began an investigation. No one was injured. Kalocsa Airport lies seven kilometers southeast of the Paks plant, while Gerjen is nine kilometers north.
The Paks Nuclear Power Plant is a specially protected facility where civilian aircraft are prohibited from a three-kilometer radius below six thousand meters, requiring immediate military response. The stolen plane suffered broken landing gear and rested tilted on its wing after unauthorized flight from the airport.
A man born in 2002, described as unstable and intoxicated, stole the light aircraft, then walked Route 512 after landing and attempted to drive away in a stopped vehicle. Police detained him minutes later, took him into custody, requested his arrest, and continued the official Hungary airport stolen plane probe.