Hungary Scrambles Gripen Fighters After Man Steals Plane From Airport

Hungary scrambled Gripen fighters after a man stole a Cessna 172 from Kalocsa Airport and headed toward the Paks Nuclear Power Plant.

Hungarian Defense Minister Romulusz-Ruszin Szendi reported the incident.

According to the defense minister, the Hungarian Defense Forces detected the aircraft on radar shortly after takeoff and immediately scrambled a pair of fighter jets.

The incident ended within several minutes when the aircraft made an emergency landing near the village of Gerjen.

Hungarian Gripen fighters located the damaged aircraft and remained over the site until a rescue helicopter and emergency services arrived.

Airport from which the aircraft was stolen, the Paks Nuclear Power Plant and the emergency landing site, Aug. 29, 2026.

Police and other relevant services also arrived at the scene and began an inspection and investigation. According to the minister, no one was injured, based on the information available at the time.

Kalocsa Airport is located about seven kilometers southeast of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, while the village of Gerjen is about nine kilometers north of the plant.

The Paks Nuclear Power Plant is a specially protected facility. Civilian aircraft are prohibited from entering a three-kilometer-radius zone around the plant at altitudes below 6,000 meters, requiring an immediate military response to an approaching aircraft.

According to Hungarian outlet HVG, a man born in 2002 and described as being in an unstable condition stole the Cessna 172 light aircraft from the airport.

The aircraft was damaged during the landing: its landing gear broke, and the plane came to rest on its wing, partially tilted to one side.

The man left the aircraft and walked along Route 512, where a driver stopped to help him. The man got into the vehicle and attempted to drive away, but the driver managed to prevent him from doing so.

Police detained the man several minutes later. After questioning him, police took him into custody and requested his arrest.

According to the outlet, the man was intoxicated. Police are also investigating whether he was under the influence of other drugs.