An intoxicated 24-year-old pilot stole a Cessna 172 light aircraft from an airfield in Kalocsa, Hungary, and flew toward the Paks Nuclear Power Plant before crashing in a field.
The Hungarian Armed Forces scrambled two fighter jets in response to the security alert, but the military interceptors were not required to act after the suspect lost control of the plane and made a hard landing.
Following the crash in a sunflower field, the pilot suffered light injuries, climbed out of the cockpit, and attempted to steal a car belonging to a man who had driven over to offer assistance after seeing the crash. The driver prevented the second theft, and arriving police officers arrested the suspect shortly afterward. Police reported that the plane thief was drunk at the time of the incident.
News outlet Baza reported that the pilot had snuck onto the airfield before taking off. Under Hungarian aviation regulations, civilian aircraft are prohibited from approaching within three kilometers of nuclear facilities such as the Paks power station.
Military response and radar tracking
Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi confirmed the military interception details in a statement published on Facebook, a social media platform owned by Meta. He reported that defense forces raised two fighter jets on alert after radar systems detected the stolen aircraft heading directly toward the nuclear facility.
Ruszin-Szendi stated that the man had decided to test out a small aircraft parked in Kalocsa and departed toward Paks without long consideration. Radar operators for the Hungarian Armed Forces detected the plane immediately upon its unauthorized departure.
Nuclear facility and aviation background
The Paks Nuclear Power Plant, located along the Danube River in central Hungary, is the nation's only operational commercial nuclear power facility. Generating a substantial portion of Hungary's domestic electricity, the facility is surrounded by strictly enforced airspace restrictions to protect critical infrastructure from aerial threats.
Kalocsa is a historic town in Bacs-Kiskun County, situated near the eastern bank of the Danube River approximately 120 kilometers south of Budapest. The stolen aircraft, a Cessna 172, is a popular single-engine four-seat light aircraft manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company and widely utilized around the world for flight training and general aviation.
Attempted airliner theft in Australia
The security breach in Hungary follows another incident involving an attempted aircraft theft in Australia, where a 17-year-old youth tried to steal a Jetstar passenger airliner. The Australian incident took place at Avalon Airport, located southwest of Melbourne, in 2025, with court proceedings in the case taking place in the spring of 2026.
Dressed in high-visibility clothing, the teenager boarded the commercial airliner cabin and told flight attendants that he possessed bombs in his bag and needed access to the flight deck. The youth then pulled out a shotgun that was divided into three parts and began assembling the weapon inside the plane.
Passengers and flight crew members acted quickly to stop him, tackling the minor to the floor before he could finish assembling the firearm. Upon being restrained on the ground, the youth said that the surrounding people were good and that he respected them.
Police officers searched the detainee's bag following the incident and discovered nine shotgun cartridges, three knives, three Molotov cocktails, and a teddy bear. The failed thief faces potential life imprisonment, while Jetstar continues to operate as one of Australia's primary low-cost carriers based out of Melbourne.
