Co-pilot hijacks plane and seeks asylum in Switzerland

On 17 February 2014, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702, a scheduled Ethiopian Airlines service from Addis Ababa to Milan via Rome, was hijacked by its unarmed co-pilot, Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn. After the captain left the cockpit to use the restroom, the co-pilot locked the cockpit door, took control of the Boeing 767-300ER, and activated the hijacking transponder code (7500). Rather than continuing to Rome, he diverted the aircraft toward Geneva, where he contacted air traffic control and requested political asylum, along with a guarantee that he would not be extradited to Ethiopia.

Accident Facts

The aircraft circled above Geneva while negotiations continued and eventually landed safely at Geneva International Airport with only about ten minutes of fuel remaining after one engine flamed out. The co-pilot escaped through the cockpit window using a rope before surrendering peacefully to Swiss police. During the diversion, the flight was escorted by Italian Eurofighter and French Mirage fighter jets because the Swiss Air Force was not on active night duty at the time.

Despite the dramatic hijacking, all passengers and crew escaped without injury, and the airport resumed normal operations shortly after. Following the incident, Switzerland refused Ethiopia's request to extradite Hailemedhin. Although Ethiopian courts later sentenced him in absentia to 19 years and six months in prison, Swiss prosecutors concluded that he had been suffering from severe paranoia during the hijacking and ordered mental health treatment instead of criminal prosecution.

The incident also exposed weaknesses in Switzerland's nighttime air defense readiness, prompting the Swiss Air Force to gradually introduce around-the-clock quick reaction alert coverage, achieving full 24/7 interceptor readiness by the end of 2020