Turk hijacks jet 'in attempt to escape military service'

That's sort of like opening fire in the school hallway to avoid after-school detention.

A Turkish man hoping to avoid military service seized control of a passenger plane flying from Albania to Istanbul yesterday and forced the plane to land in Italy.

"Don't make any sudden moves and take me somewhere fabulous. Somewhere with history and that really appreciates fashion and the culinary arts."

The man, who had claimed to be armed with a bomb, stormed the cockpit and diverted the airliner to Brindisi in southern Italy, where he surrendered and released all 113 passengers and crew unharmed.

Why didn't he just, you know, go to Italy and hide-out somwhere, quietly? I mean there's a lot to be said about keeping a low profile when trying to escape military service.

Officials initially said the aircraft had been hijacked by two men protesting against Pope Benedict XVI's planned visit to Turkey next month.

Any chance you guys get to bring that shit up right?

The five-hour hijacking began shortly after the plane took off from Tirana and entered Greek airspace.

I hope they were given a break in the middle. Five hours of hoping not to die can be stressful.