MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. A district court in Khanty-Mansiysk, West Siberia, ruled on Wednesday to arrest for two months a man who attempted to hijack a passenger plane bound from Surgut to Moscow.
Pavel Shapovalov, a 41-year-old resident of Surgut, was detained on Tuesday for trying to hijack Aeroflot’s Boeing 737-8LJ. Fifteen minutes after takeoff, the plane was diverted to the airport of Khanty-Mansiysk, where it landed at 2:18 pm Moscow Time.
"The court rules to choose a pre-trial restriction measure for two months until March 22 for Shapovalov," Judge Rinat Akhmetov said.
According to investigators, the man tried to break into the pilots’ cabin demanding to divert the plane to Afghanistan and threatening that he carried arms. Neither explosives nor weapons were found during the inspection. The man was unable to explain the reason for his move.
The Russian Investigative Committee has ordered Shapovalov to undergo a mental examination. The man has been charged with attempted hijacking involving threats to use violence, under Article 211.2 of the Russian Criminal Code. He previously had a criminal record for property damage.