An armed individual walked past a security checkpoint at New York’s JFK International Airport and on to National Airlines flight 019. The incident happened in Terminal 4 at approximately 22:30 hours local, as passengers were boarding the Boeing 757-200 aircraft for a flight to Las Vegas, Nevada. The man showed his weapon, a Smith and Wesson 10 mm handgun, when challenged by a checkpoint screener, and then ran on to the jetway. He encountered a flight attendant and ordered her to close the plane’s access door. The gunman then entered the plane behind the first class passenger section and immediately went to the cockpit with his gun drawn. He put the gun to the pilot’s head and ordered him to fly south. First class passengers noticed the man’s gun as he went down the aisle and began to leave the plane. Flight attendants in the rear of the cabin deployed chutes to allow other passengers to deplane. Approximately 124 of 142 passengers and seven crew members were on the plane at the time of this incident. Police arrived within minutes of being notified, surrounded the plane, and began negotiations with the gunman. The pilot was initially told by the gunman to fly to Miami, Florida, but the gunman later said that he wanted to be flown to Antarctica. He also demanded to speak to someone from the Argentine Embassy. The pilot was released shortly after midnight and the copilot was released about 40 minutes later. The gunman peacefully surrendered at around 03:30 hours local, July 28, and was taken into custody. He was arraigned in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, on July 28 and charged with air piracy. He was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.