--- description: Vladimir Putin almost shot down a passenger plane reported to be carrying a bomb and heading for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics title: Vladimir Putin Almost Had a Passenger Plane Shot Down in 2014 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f85674631869cb6/69892a70096a944dd86a1cad/rts1n0ja.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [russia](/tag/russia/) ## russia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Vladimir Putin Gave the Order for a Passenger Plane to Be Shot Down in 2014 ## Video: Putin Describes New Weapons Capabilities in State-of-the-Nation Speech [Watch (HLS stream): Putin Describes New Weapons Capabilities in State-of-the-Nation Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8XnjmXQf.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2018-03-02. Russia has tested an array of new strategic nuclear weapons that can't be intercepted, President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday, marking a technological breakthrough that could dramatically increase Russia's military capability._ by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2018 3:43 AM CUT  Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an interview with NBC's journalist Megyn Kelly in Kaliningrad, Russia March 2, 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an interview with NBC's journalist Megyn Kelly in Kaliningrad, Russia March 2, 2018.Alexei Druzhinin—Sputnik Photo Agency/Reuters by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2018 3:43 AM CUT A passenger plane reported to be [carrying a bomb](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-putin-sochi-airplane/putin-order-for-bomb-threat-plane-to-be-downed-in-2014-canceled-after-false-alarm-idUSKCN1GN0LS "undefined") to target the opening of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics was ordered to be shot down by Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said in a new film Sunday. In the two-hour documentary titled _Putin_, the President said that before the opening ceremony was due to start, he received a phone call from Olympic security officials saying a plane carrying 110 people had been hijacked, Reuters reports. The report was a false alarm and the plane was not shot down, Putin said. “I was told: a plane en route from Ukraine to Istanbul was seized, captors demand landing in Sochi,” Putin said in the film. The Turkish Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane was flying from Kharkiv in Ukraine to Istanbul in Turkey. Pilots on board reportedly said a passenger had a bomb and the plane needed to reroute to Sochi, where more than 40,000 people had gathered at the stadium for the opening ceremony. Putin originally ordered the plane to be shot down in accordance with emergency protocol recommended by security officials. “I told them: act according to the plan,” Putin said. Several minutes later, the President was informed that the call was a false alarm. The passenger was drunk and the plane would continue to Turkey. The film aired online a week before Putin reruns for the presidency in elections on March 18. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5195107/vladimir-putin-plane-threat-shot-down/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5195107/vladimir-putin-plane-threat-shot-down/"},"headline":"Vladimir Putin Gave the Order for a Passenger Plane to Be Shot Down in 2014","datePublished":"2018-03-12T03:43:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:36:40.764Z","description":"The threat was a false alarm and the plane was not shot down","url":"https://time.com/5195107/vladimir-putin-plane-threat-shot-down/","keywords":["russia","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f85674631869cb6/69892a70096a944dd86a1cad/rts1n0ja.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f85674631869cb6/69892a70096a944dd86a1cad/rts1n0ja.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Russian President Putin attends an interview with NBC's journalist Kelly in Kaliningrad","caption":"Russian President Putin attends an interview with NBC's journalist Kelly in Kaliningrad","creditText":"Alexei Druzhinin—Sputnik Photo Agency/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5195107/vladimir-putin-plane-threat-shot-down/","name":"Vladimir Putin Gave the Order for a Passenger Plane to Be Shot Down in 2014"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Putin Describes New Weapons Capabilities in State-of-the-Nation Speech","description":"Russia has tested an array of new strategic nuclear weapons that can't be intercepted, President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday, marking a technological breakthrough that could dramatically increase Russia's military capability.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/8XnjmXQf/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-03-02T05:08:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8XnjmXQf.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5195107/vladimir-putin-plane-threat-shot-down/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5195107/vladimir-putin-plane-threat-shot-down/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```