Narrative:The hijacker climbed over a fence went up the rear stairs of a Boeing 727 parked at Stockton Airport, California, and brandishing a pistol commandeered the aircraft. No passengers were aboard. Five crew and two cleaning personnel escaped. The flight engineer was taken hostage. The hijacker demanded to be allowed to issue a statement to the press and flight to Iran. After several hours of negotiation he issued a statement via the plane's radio. At one point with the pistol in his waistband he turned his back to the flight engineer who shoved the hijacker and grabbed the weapon. The flight engineer deplaned and was followed shortly by the hijacker who then surrendered.
Sentenced to 15 years for air piracy and 5 years for using a firearm in a federal felony.
Classification:
Hijack
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Stockton Airport, CA to Los Angeles International Airport, CA as the crow flies is 504 km (315 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.