'Drunk passenger' redirects Moscow-bound flight

A Moscow-bound plane flying from Surgut in Siberia landed on Tuesday in the city of Khanty-Mansiysk after a passenger ordered the crew to divert the flight to Afghanistan.

Investigators said the passenger tried to break into the cockpit, adding that he was drunk.

"The man has been detained, he is a citizen of Surgut, who was earlier convicted for damaging property," Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee, said in comments carried on the state-owned TASS news agency.

"A drunk passenger, claiming to be armed, tried to break into the pilots' cabin during the flight and demanded the changing of the plane's flight route," she added.

Read more: Non-stop madness: How long-haul flights affect your mind

Convincing tactics

The flight's captain managed to safely land the plane in central Russia.

Flightradar24, a website that monitors global air traffic, published images on Twitter of the plane changing course.

The crew reportedly persuaded the man to land in Khanty-Mansiysk to refuel, according to Russian media.

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ls/msh (Reuters, AP)