Aircraft hijacking: Difference between revisions

{{Terrorism}}'''Aircraft hijacking''' (also known as '''airplane hijacking''', '''skyjacking''', '''plane hijacking''', '''plane jacking''', '''air robbery''', '''air piracy''', or '''aircraft piracy''', with the last term used within the special aircraft [[jurisdiction]] of the United States) is the [[Crime|unlawful]] seizure of an [[aircraft]] by an individual or a group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/46502|title=49 U.S. Code § 46502 – Aircraft piracy|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=2015-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116050854/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/46502|archive-date=2015-11-16|url-status=live}}</ref> Dating from the earliest of hijackings, most cases involve the [[Pilot (aeronautics)|pilot]] being forced to fly according to the hijacker's demands. There have also been incidents where the hijackers have overpowered the flight crew, made unauthorized entry into the cockpit and [[suicide attacks|flown them into buildings]]—most notably in the [[September 11 attacks]]—and in some cases, planes have been hijacked by the official captain or first officer, such as with [[Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Swiss confirm Ethiopian plane hijack |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26222674 |access-date=17 February 2014 |date=17 February 2014 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218013847/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26222674 |archive-date=18 February 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Photos: Major aircraft hijackings that shocked the world|url=http://www.mid-day.com/photos/photos-major-aircraft-hijackings-that-shocked-the-world/8324|access-date=24 December 2014|work=[[Mid-Day]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224104706/http://www.mid-day.com/photos/photos-major-aircraft-hijackings-that-shocked-the-world/8324|archive-date=24 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Air China pilot hijacks his own jet to Taiwan|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=28 October 1998|url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9810/28/hijack.china.taiwan.02/index.html|access-date=25 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080321171516/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9810/28/hijack.china.taiwan.02/index.html|archive-date=21 March 2008}}</ref><ref name="B. Raman">{{cite web|author=B. Raman|title=Plane Hijacking in Perspective|publisher=South Asia Analysis Group|date=2 January 2000|url=http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/paper103|access-date=29 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112525/http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/paper103|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

{{Main|List of aircraft hijackings}}Airplane hijackings have occurred since the early days of flight. These can be classified in the following eras: Pre-1929, 1929–1957, 1958–1979, 1980–2000, and 2001–present. Early incidents involved light planes, but this later involved passenger aircraft as [[commercial aviation]] became widespread.

 

An early but unconfirmed account of hijacking occurred in December 1929. J. Howard "Doc" DeCelles was flying a postal route for a Mexican firm, Transportes Aeras Transcontinentales, ferrying mail from [[San Luis Potosí]] to [[Torreón|Torreon]] and then on to [[Guadalajara]]. [[Saturnino Cedillo]], the governor of the state of San Luis Potosí, ordered him to divert. Several other men were also involved, and through an interpreter, DeCelles had no choice but to comply. He was allegedly held captive for several hours under armed guard before being released.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Violence in the Skies: A History of Aircraft Hijacking and Bombing|last=Baum|first=Philip|publisher=Summersdale Publishers LTD|year=2016|isbn=978-1783727902|pages=5}}</ref>

In 1942 near Malta, two New Zealanders, a South African, and an Englishman achieved the first confirmed in-air hijack when they overpowered their captors aboard an Italian seaplane that was flying them to a [[prisoner-of-war camp]]. As they approached an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] base, they were strafed by [[Supermarine Spitfire]]s unaware of the aircraft's true operators and forced to land on the water. However, all on board survived to be picked up by a British boat.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvuQQaQLDPQ |title=World's First Air Hijack – Allied Aircrew's Daring 1942 Escape |website=[[YouTube]] |date=5 May 2019 |access-date=2019-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221093841/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvuQQaQLDPQ&gl=US&hl=en&has_verified=1&bpctr=9999999999 |archive-date=2019-12-21 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/43/a2040643.shtml |title=The World's First Air Hijack! |work=BBC.com |date=November 14, 2003}}</ref>

According to the FAA, in the 1960s, there were 100 attempts of hijackings involving U.S. aircraft: 77 successful and 23 unsuccessful.<ref name=":2" /> Recognizing the danger early, the [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]] issued a directive on July 28, 1961, which prohibits unauthorized persons from carrying concealed [[firearm]]s and interfering with crew member duties.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Federal Aviation Act of 1958]] was amended to impose severe penalties for those seizing control of a commercial aircraft.<ref name=":2" /> Airlines could also refuse to transport passengers who were likely to cause danger. That same year, the FAA and [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] created the [[Federal Air Marshal Service|Peace Officers Program]] which put trained marshals on flights.<ref name=":2" /> A few years later, on May 7, 1964, the FAA adopted a rule requiring that [[cockpit]] doors on commercial aircraft be kept locked at all times.<ref name=":2" /> One proposal the FAA had for combating the hijackings was to build a fake Havana airport in Southern Florida. However they determined that it would be too expensive.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Take me to Cuba! The skyjacking craze of the 1960s |url=https://www.aerotime.aero/oleg.volkov/15042-take-me-to-cuba-the-skyjacking-craze-of-the-1960s |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104031745/https://www.aerotime.aero/oleg.volkov/15042-take-me-to-cuba-the-skyjacking-craze-of-the-1960s |archive-date=2019-01-04 |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=www.aerotime.aero |language=en}}</ref>

In a five-year period (1968–1972) the world experienced 326 hijack attempts, or one every 5.6 days.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Holden|first=Robert T.|date=1986|title=The Contagiousness of Aircraft Hijacking|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=91|issue=4|pages=874–904|issn=0002-9602|jstor=2779961|doi=10.1086/228353|s2cid=144772464}}</ref> The incidents were frequent and often just an inconvenience, which resulted in [[television show]]s creating parodies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/3/29/11326472/hijacking-airplanes-egyptair|title=The US once had more than 130 hijackings in four years. Here's why they finally stopped.|last=Nelson|first=Libby|date=2016-03-29|website=Vox|access-date=2019-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629151906/https://www.vox.com/2016/3/29/11326472/hijacking-airplanes-egyptair|archive-date=2019-06-29|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine even ran a lighthearted comedy piece called "What to Do When the Hijacker Comes".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844656,00.html|title=Travel: What to Do When the Hijacker Comes|date=1968-12-06|magazine=Time|access-date=2019-07-06|language=en-US|issn=0040-781X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629151920/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844656,00.html|archive-date=2019-06-29|url-status=live}}</ref> Most incidents occurred in the United States. There were two distinct types: hijackings for transportation elsewhere and hijackings for [[extortion]] with the threat of harm.<ref name=":4" />

On September 11, 2001, four airliners were hijacked by 19 [[al-Qaeda]] [[extremist]]s: [[American Airlines Flight 11]], [[United Airlines Flight 175]], [[American Airlines Flight 77]], and [[United Airlines Flight 93]]. The first two planes were deliberately crashed into the Twin Towers of the [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]] in New York City and the third was crashed into [[The Pentagon]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia]]. The fourth crashed in a field in [[Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania|Stonycreek Township]] near [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]], after crew and passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers. Authorities believe that the intended target was the [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]] or the [[White House]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] In total, [[Casualties of the September 11 attacks|2,996 people]] (2,977 if excluding the perpetrators) perished and more than 6,000 were injured in the attacks, making the hijackings the deadliest in modern history.

Throughout the mid-2000s, hijackings still occurred but there were much fewer incidents and casualties. The number of incidents had been declining, even before the September 11 attacks. One notable incident in 2006 was the hijacking of [[Turkish Airlines Flight 1476]], flying from [[Tirana]] to [[Istanbul]], which was seized by a man named Hakan Ekinci. The aircraft, with 107 passengers and 6 crew, made distress calls to [[air traffic control]] and the plane was escorted by military aircraft before landing safely at [[Brindisi]], Italy. In 2007, several incidents occurred in the Middle East and [[North Africa|Northern Africa]]; hijackers in one of these incidents claimed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/19/europe/turkey.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622142418/http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/19/europe/turkey.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-06-22|title=Pilots and passengers foil hijacking of Turkish jet |journal=International Herald Tribune|date=2008-06-22|access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref> Towards the end of the decade, [[Aeroméxico|AeroMexico]] experienced its first terror incident when [[Aeroméxico Flight 576|Flight 576]] was hijacked by a man demanding to speak with [[Mexican President|President]] [[Felipe Calderón|Calderón]]. In 2007, [[Air West Flight 612|a man failed to hijack a 737-200 with 103 people on board over Chad.]]

The Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, known as the Tokyo Convention, is an [[international treaty]] which entered force on December 4, 1969. {{As of|2015}}, it has been ratified by 186 parties. Article 11 of the [[Tokyo Convention]] states the following:

The [[Hague Hijacking Convention|Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft]] (known as the Hague Convention) went into effect on October 14, 1971. {{As of|2013}}, the convention has 185 signatories.

The Montreal Convention is a [[multilateral treaty]] adopted by a diplomatic meeting of [[ICAO]] member states in 1999. It amended important provisions of the [[Warsaw Convention]]'s regime concerning compensation for the victims of air disasters.

*The 1942 [[Superman]] film ''[[Japoteurs]]'' depicts Superman saving Metropolis from a bomber plane hijacked by Japanese spies during World War II.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Darowski |first1=John |title=Adapting Superman: essays on the transmedia man of steel |date=2021 |publisher=McFarland & company |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=9781476642390 |page=33}}</ref>