Frankfurt
A German man threatened to crash a stolen plane into the European Central Bank in Frankfurt this week, saying he wanted to honor the memory of one of the American astronauts who died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986. Frank-Stephan Strambach, 32, stole a small plane at gunpoint from a nearby airport and circled the bank building erratically for several hours, talking to media and police by radio. Thousands of people were evacuated from the bank and other Frankfurt skyscrapers. Strambach said he was trying to remind the world of the career of Judith Resnik. “She deserves more attention,” he said. “She was the first female Jewish astronaut.” After he was patched through for a phone conversation with Resnik’s family in the U.S., Strambach agreed to land the plane. He was promptly arrested and remanded for psychiatric observation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Easy Money: the Charles Ponzi Story – an 'enlightening' podcastThe Week Recommends Apple Original podcast explores the 'fascinating' tale of the man who gave the investment scam its name
-
See the bright lights from these 7 big-city hotelsThe Week Recommends Immerse yourself in culture, history and nightlife
