Police received a report on the morning of August 29 stating that a light aircraft had made a forced landing on the outskirts of Gerjen. It emerged that the man had taken a Cessna 172 aircraft from the Kalocsa airfield and subsequently made a forced landing in a sunflower field in Gerjen, Tolna County. After abandoning the plane, he was walking along Road 512 in a disoriented state when a passing motorist stopped to assist him. The man got into the car and attempted to drive away, but this was successfully prevented in time.
Police officers dispatched to the scene apprehended the 24-year-old man nearby within minutes. An on-site investigation and the gathering of data and information are currently underway, involving experts and the notification of the aviation authority.
Officers from the Bács-Kiskun and Tolna County Police Headquarters are initiating proceedings against the man for the unauthorized taking of a vehicle and other offenses; following his interrogation, he was taken into criminal custody, and a motion for his arrest was filed. Current information indicates the man was intoxicated; police are investigating whether he was also under the influence of other substances.
In close cooperation with the aviation authority, the police have immediately initiated a joint inspection at the Kalocsa airfield, a measure that will be extended to other airfields across the country.