Incident Overview

Date: Thursday 5 February 1981
Aircraft Type: Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
Owner/operator: Eastern Air Lines
Location: San Juan-Isla Verde International Airport (SJU) – ÿ Puerto Rico
Phase of Flight: En route
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 242
Component Affected: AircraftAircraft
Category: Unlawful Interference
On Flight EA929, a passenger hijacked the aircraft, threatening to detonate a bomb unless the plane altered course to Cuba. He claimed to be fleeing Mafia members and police, and the hijacker was seated in first class. The captain diverted to Cuba, and the flight continued. The hijacker later deserted the plane and was apprehended by FBI agents.On Flight EA929, a passenger hijacked the aircraft, threatening to detonate a bomb unless the plane altered course to Cuba. He claimed to be fleeing Mafia members and police, and the hijacker was seated in first class. The captain diverted to Cuba, and the flight continued. The hijacker later deserted the plane and was apprehended by FBI agents.

Description

Flight EA929 had taken off from New York-JFK on a flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico when a 26-yea old male passenger told a flight attendant that he had a bomb and would detonate it unless the plane changed course for Cuba. He said he was fleeing for the Mafia and the New York police. The hijacker sat down in the first class section of the cabin and all first class passengers were moved to the back. A flight attendant attempted to calm him down because he was very agitated. Meanwhile the captain told the hijacker that he was diverting to Cuba. However, the flight continued to the destination, San Juan. The captain asked the airport to extinguish all airport lights except for the runway lights to trick the hijacker into believing the plane was in Cuba. After landing, at 02:45 at night, the hijacker deplaned and was immediately arrested by FBI agents. The hijacker did not carry a bomb.

Source of Information

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s_IcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3GcEAAAAIBAJ&dq=hijack&pg=4835%2C2705352https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s_IcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3GcEAAAAIBAJ&dq=hijack&pg=4835%2C2705352

Primary Cause

Hijacking of aircraft.Hijacking of aircraft.

Share on:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *