Incident Overview
Description
A China Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft on a domestic flight from Changsha to Fuzhou, was hijacked to Taiwan by a 36-year-old businessman who was accompanied by his wife, foster mother, and two children. The man, clothed in a riot policeman’s uniform, was armed with a fruit knife. He also claimed to have an explosive device, but it was actually a Thermos cup containing tissue paper and wires. The hijacker burned a small piece of wire with his lighter, giving the impression that he was lighting the fuse of a bomb. The hijacker demanded that the cockpit door be opened. While holding the chief flight attendant hostage, he gave the captain a note demanding that the aircraft be flown to Taiwan or the plane would be destroyed. The hijacker kept a knife at the throat of the captain while he flew to Taiwan. Upon arrival, the hijacker surrendered to local aviation police. The man was taken into custody, while his family was later returned to China with the passengers and crew. This was the first time Taiwan had forcibly repatriated a hijacker’s family members not accused of air piracy. The hijacker later claimed that he hijacked the airliner because corrupt Chinese politicians had deterred his plan to set up a private enterprise and because his father had been previously tortured.
Primary Cause
Hijacking of an aircraft.Hijacking of an aircraft.Share on:
