Key witness in Ryanair Flight 4978 hijacking dies

October 18, Pozirk. Viačasłaŭ Charanieka, a key witness in Ryanair Flight 4978 hijacking, has died at the age of 60.

He headed the national airport in May 2021 when Belarusian security officers cited a false bomb threat to divert the passenger aircraft to Minsk and arrest prominent journalist Raman Pratasievič.

The incident has not been properly investigated because Belarusian officials denied international experts access to key evidence and witnesses.

The International Civil Aviation Organization Council determined that the bomb threat against Ryanair Flight 4978 “was deliberately false and endangered its safety, and furthermore that the threat was communicated to the flight crew upon the instructions of senior government officials of Belarus.”

“As neither a bomb nor evidence of its existence was found during pre-departure screening in Athens Greece and after various searches of the aircraft in Belarus and Lithuania, it is considered that the bomb threat was deliberately false. Knowingly communicating false information which endangers the safety of an aircraft in flight is an offence under Article 1 (1) (e) of the Montréal Convention,” it said.

Charanieka died after a long serious illness, the airport’s press office reported. The official announcement of his resignation “for health reasons” was published a month ago.

Also read: Belarus slams Ryanair flight diversion report at UN Security Council