[Predator]

FRANKRT, Germany (CNN) -- The pilot of a hijacked plane whose pilot threatened to crash it into the European Central Bank building landed safely at Frankfurt's airport on Sunday after speaking with the brother of a U.S. astronaut killed in 1986, airport officials said.

The man circled downtown Frankfurt for more than an hour while authorities attempted to bring the situation to an end. The German network NTV identified the pilot as Franz-Stefan Strammbach and said he was the only person aboard the plane.

German F-16 fighter jets were circling nearby but did not appear to be trying to intercept him.

Frankfurt police said the man wanted to speak to Charles Resnik, whose sister, Judith Resnik, died in the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. The authorities said the man was speaking with him by phone from the aircraft.

Charles Resnik is the Founding Director and Vice Chairman of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in Alexandria, Va.

The small plane was hijacked at gunpoint at 3:52 p.m. in Babenhausen, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of Frankfurt.

No flights are landing or taking off at the Frankfurt airport, one of the world's busiest, airport officials said.

The man at first indicated he wanted to speak with CNN, authorities said, but then decided he wanted to speak with the German television network NTV. CNN did not speak with the hijacker. NTV reported the hijacker said he did not wish to kill anyone but himself.

The European Central Bank is the headquarters for the Euro, the European currency.

CNN's Chris Burns described how the plane flew low between the city's skyscrapers. The plane took a dive towards the city skyline but veered away at the last moment, Burns said.

Thousands of locals had turned out to watch the drama, and police ordered people away from some bridges.

Several skyscrapers in the country's financial capital were evacuated as a precaution, and streets were cleared.

Source: CNN