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Terror Scare Pilot Unfit for Trial

November 8, 2003

A 32-year-old man who commandeered a glider last January and threatened to crash it into a Frankfurt skyscraper will be sent to a psychiatric unit for an indefinite amount of time, a judge ruledon Friday. In January, Franz Stephan Strambach stole the glider from a small airport near Frankfurt and threatened to crash it into a Frankfurt skyscraper. Law enforcement authorities eventually managed to convince the psychology student to land the plane safely. Friday's court hearing had been scheduled to determine whether Strambach was mentally sane at the time of the incident and could therefore stand trial. Strambach said he had wanted to commit suicide by crashing the plane, honoring the memory of U.S. astronaut Judith Resnik, who died when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986. Strambach said he had fallen in love with Resnik during the last couple of years. According to experts, he suffers from schizophrenia, has a persecution complex and remains a threat to public safety.

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