German media is abuzz with talk of "Volkan the intruder," the man who, apparently high on drugs and just wearing underwear, partied for hours alone on Angela Merkel's government plane.
The incident took place on the evening of the 25th of July, on the Airbus 319 while it was sitting unoccupied in a closed military section of Cologne airport.
According to Die Welt, "Volkan T., "apparently a 24-year-old bodybuilder of Turkish descent, gained access to the plane by telling a guard he was there for a wedding party and then climbing over a fence topped with barbed wire.
Once on board, Volkan begun having fun. Here's how Der Spiegel describes his "party:"
Reports said he stripped down to his underpants, sprayed fire extinguisher foam around the elegant cream and beige interior, pushed buttons in the cockpit, released an inflatable emergency slide and danced on the wing of the Airbus 319.
Volkan is believed to have been high on drugs at the time of the party, and was allegedly carrying both marijuana and ecstasy. He is said to have come to the airport after an argument with his girlfriend.
The incident has raised serious safety concerns within Germany, and politicians are now calling for a full investigation of the incident. Despite an alarm going off at 8.40 p.m., Volkan was apparently not apprehended until 12.16 a.m. , when a police dog bit him. In his time on the plane, Volkan is believed to have caused €100,000 ($133,720) worth of damage, but it could have been worse still — the door to the cockpit was open, and Bild reports that he actually tried to start the engine.
Thankfully Merkel was nowhere near at the time of the incident. Der Spiegel reports she was at the opening of the annual Wagner opera festival in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth that particular evening.
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