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View Full Version : Previous Hijackings Originating From Within The United States Before 9/11



Gold9472
01-28-2009, 09:49 PM
Previous Hijackings Originating From Within The United States Before 9/11

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Aircraft-hijacking

1971: D. B. Cooper hijacks Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305 and obtains $200,000 ransom for the release of the plane's passengers. Cooper proceeds to parachute from the rear of the Boeing 727 and is never found.

1974 February 22: Samuel Byck shot and killed Maryland Aviation Administration Police Officer Neal Ramsburg at BWI before storming aboard Delta Air Lines flight 523 to Atlanta. He gained access to the cockpit while the plane was on the ground, intending to assassinate President Nixon by flying the DC-9 into the White House. He shot both the pilot and the copilot before he was shot through the aircraft window by another officer.

1979 June 20 and June 21: An American Airlines flight from New York to Chicago was hijacked by Nikola Kavaja, a Serbian nationalist, demanding the release of a jailed fellow nationalist. Unable to secure his comrade's release, the hijacker released all hostages except for the pilot, co-pilot and one flight attendant. They flew from Chicago back to New York where he transferred to a Boeing 707, which flew to Ireland where the hijacker surrendered and was returned to the United States for trial. Weapon used was a home-made bomb. There were no casualties.

1994: FedEx Flight 705 hijacked by disgruntled employee Auburn Calloway as it left Memphis, Tennessee, with the intention of using it as a cruise missile against FedEx HQ. He was subdued by the flight crew before an emergency landing back at Memphis.

And yet... how many times have we heard that NORAD never planned for a hijacking coming from within the United States? As if it could never happen here. I find it to be inconceivable that they didn't plan for a hijacking originating from within the United States. It sounds like a lie.

Prior to 9/11, it was understood that an order to shoot down a commercial aircraft would have to be issued by the National Command Authority (a phrase used to describe the president and secretary of defense). Exercise planners also assumed that the aircraft would originate from outside the United States, allowing time to identify the target and scramble interceptors.The threat of terrorists hijacking commercial airliners within the United States "and using them as guided missiles" was not recognized by NORAD before 9/11.

Guess which book that is.

Se7en
01-29-2009, 01:02 PM
Wow. FedEx is right down the street from me now, and my step-dad works there as a Pilot Trainer. Freaky