A passenger announced Friday `` that there was a bomb on board '' his plane and wanted it diverted to Sochi -- the Russian city hosting the Winter Olympics amid terrorism fears -- Turkish officials said . Rather than abide by the request , the Pegasus Airlines ' crew sent a hijacking alert that Turkey 's Air Force Control Center received at 5:20 p.m. ( 10:20 a.m . ET ) , Turkey 's semiofficial Anadolu news agency reported . About 20 minutes later , the same report claimed two F-16 fighter jets scrambled to intercept the Boeing 737-800 and escort it over the Black Sea . Eventually , the airliner landed safely at Istanbul 's Sabiha Gokcen airport , where video shot soon thereafter showed police and security officials converging on it . Istanbul 's governor tweeted around 10 p.m. that `` the air pirate has been neutralized '' and all other passengers `` disembarked from the plane without any problems . '' Special forces who boarded the plane took him into custody `` in a swift operation '' without finding a `` bomb on him , '' Gov . Huseyin Avni Mutlu later told reporters . `` The operation is complete , '' the governor said . Mutlu said that the suspect -- who never made it into the cockpit and at one point apparently thought the aircraft was destined for Sochi -- `` did n't seem to have consumed alcohol , ( but ) he may have used some other substances . '' He 'd brought a carry-on bag with personal electronics and other items onto the Pegasus plane , according to the governor . The incident came at a tense time given the various threats surrounding the Winter Games , which kicked off in earnest Friday night with its opening ceremony . Russian security forces have cracked down in recent weeks on suspected militants in the restive North Caucasus republic of Dagestan -- which is located on the other side of the Caucasus Mountains from Sochi -- and elsewhere in recent weeks after twin suicide bombings in the city of Volgograd in December . There have also been concerns specifically about explosives-laden airlines . U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul said Wednesday night that the his nation 's Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to airlines flying into Russia warning that explosive materials could be concealed in toothpaste or cosmetic tubes . Airlines warned of possible toothpaste tube bombs . Official : Suspect is Ukrainian . The flight started in Kharkov in Ukraine , and was headed to Istanbul , according to the Transportation Ministry . While it was in air , `` one of the passengers said that there was a bomb on board and asked the plane to not land in Sabiha Gokcen but rather to land in Sochi , '' Transportation Ministry official Habip Soluk said on CNNTurk . The man said the bomb was in the baggage hold , a Transportation Ministry official said . The aircraft ended up touching down at the Turkish airport at at 6:04 p.m. , according to Anadolu , at which point it was moved to a safe zone on the tarmac . Cihan News Agency of Turkey published a photograph it claimed came from inside the plane showing a man standing in a number 11 sports jersey with empty seats around him and two people in uniform . Turkish officials have not confirmed that this photograph is from inside the Pegasus airliner or that the man at the center of it is the alleged hijacker . The Ukrainian foreign ministry issued a statement identifying the suspect as one of its citizens , something that Soluk also said was the case . The Ukrainian ministry said no explosives or guns were found aboard the plane and that the suspect `` voluntarily turned himself into police . '' Mutlu , Istanbul 's governor , offered a different take on how the alleged hijacker was detained . `` We had to use force because we were trying to persuade him and he was n't persuaded , '' said Mutlu , adding Turkish authorities did not use guns and that the suspect suffered `` a light injury . '' The suspect never said anything about Circassians -- the residents in the volatile region around the North Caucasus mountains -- or having lived in the region , according to the governor .
Ukraine says the suspect turned himself in ; a Turkish official says otherwise . ` ` We were trying to persuade him and he was n't persuaded , '' Ukraine says . Ukraine says there 's a bomb in the plane 's cargo hold , and it should fly to Sochi . F-16 jets escort the plane to Istanbul , where it lands safely ; authorities detain the suspect .