Aircraft hijacking (also known as skyjacking and aircraft piracy) is the take over of an aircraft, by a person or group, usually armed. In most cases the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Sometimes the hijackers fly the planes themselves, as believed to have occurred in the September 11, 2001 attacks. In one case the official pilot hijacked the plane, when he diverted his internal Air China flight to Taiwan. Not to be confused with China Airlines, the national airline of the Republic of China (Taiwan. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. [1][2]
Unlike the hijacking of land vehicles or ships, skyjacking is usually not perpetrated in order to rob the cargo. Rather, most aircraft hijackings are committed to use the passengers as hostages in an effort to obtain transportation to a given location. A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security A 2000 Afghan hijacking of an internal flight, diverted to Britain, successfully gained political asylum for the hijackers. Ariana Afghan Airlines Co Ltd is the national Airline carrier of Afghanistan, based in Kabul. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Other hijackers may hold the passengers to ransom. Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property to secure their release or it can refer to the sum of money involved The 1971 hijacking of an American plane by D. B. Cooper to gain a ransom $200,000 is one of the only unsolved hijackings in the world, another being Malaysia Airlines Flight 653. D B Cooper is the name attributed to a man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the United States on November 24 1971 received Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 (MH653 a Boeing 737-2H6 aircraft registered as (delivered September 1972 as) crashed at Tanjung Kupang, Johor Another common motive is publicity for some cause or grievance. Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject Since the use of hijacked planes as suicide missiles in the September 11 attacks, hijacking is treated as a different kind of security threat — though similar usages had apparently been attempted by Samuel Byck in 1974 and on Air France Flight 8969 in 1994. Samuel Joseph Byck ( January 30, 1930 &ndash February 22, 1974) was a former tire salesman who attempted to hijack a plane flying Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on December 24, 1994 at Algiers
Hijackings for hostages have usually followed a pattern of negotiations between the hijackers and the authorities, followed by some form of settlement -- not always the meeting of the hijackers' original demands -- or the storming of the aircraft by armed police or special forces to rescue the hostages. Prior to September, 2001, the policy of most airlines was for the pilot to comply with hijackers' demands in the hope of a peaceful outcome. Since then, policies have reversed course, in favor of arming and armoring the cockpit.
Options for preventing hijacking include screening to keep weapons off the airplane, putting air marshals on the flight, and fortifying the cockpit to keep hijackers out. The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS is a United States federal government Law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation
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Background
The first recorded aircraft hijack was on February 21, 1931, in Arequipa, Peru. Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For the Cactus Genus, see Oreocereus. Arequipa is the capital of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Byron Rickards flying a Ford Tri-Motor was approached on the ground by armed revolutionaries. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout He refused to fly them anywhere and after a ten day stand-off Rickards was informed that the revolution was successful and he could go in return for giving one of their number a lift to Lima. Lima is the Capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers on a coast overlooking [3] Most hijackings have not been so farcical.
Prevention
Cockpit doors on most commercial airlines have been strengthened, and are now bullet resistant. In the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and India, air marshals have also been added to some flights to deter and thwart hijackers. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A sky marshal (also known as air marshal or flight marshal) is an undercover law enforcement or security officer on board a commercial Aircraft to In addition, some have proposed remote control systems for aircraft whereby no one on board would have control over the plane's flight[4].
In the case of a serious risk that an aircraft will be used for flying into a target, it may have to be shot down, killing all passengers and crew, to prevent more serious consequences.
One task of airport security is to prevent hijacks by screening passengers and keeping anything that could be used as a weapon (even smaller objects like nail clippers for example) off aircraft. Airport security refers to the techniques and methods used in protecting Airports and Aircraft from Crime. A weapon is a Tool used either in Hunting, or attack or defence in Combat for the purpose of subduing enemy personnel or to destroy enemy weapons
Situation after September 11
Before the September 11, 2001 attacks, plane crews advised passengers to sit quietly in order to increase their chances of survival. An unofficial protocol emerged, in which civilians and government authorities understood that in most cases violence from the hijackers was unlikely as long as they achieved their goal (often, as during the rash of American incidents in the 1970s, a trip to Cuba).
Since the September 11th attacks, the situation for passengers and hijackers has changed. As in the case of United Airlines Flight 93, where an airliner crashed into a field during a fight between passengers and hijackers, passengers now have to calculate the risks of passive cooperation, not only for themselves but for those on the ground. United Airlines Flight 93 was a scheduled United States domestic passenger flight from Newark International Airport Future hijackers may encounter greater resistance from passengers, making a hijacking more unlikely but, if they happen, bloodier. An example of active passenger resistance occurred when passengers of American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami on 2001-12-22, helped prevent Richard Reid from igniting explosives hidden in his shoes. The 2001 Shoe bomb plot was a failed bombing attempt that occurred on American Airlines Flight 63 on 22 December 2001. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Background A British citizen born in Bromley, South London and educated at Thomas Tallis School in Kidbrooke, London
Several states have stated that they would shoot down hijacked commercial aircraft if it can be assumed that the hijackers intend to use the aircraft in a 9/11-style attack, despite killing innocent passengers onboard. According to reports, US fighter pilots have been training to shoot down hijacked commercial airliners should it become necessary. [1] Other countries such as Poland have enacted laws or decrees that allow the shooting down of hijacked planes. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland [2]
Germany: Shooting down aircraft and the constitution
In a widely regarded decision by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, in February 2006, it struck down a law - "Luftsicherheitsgesetz" or "Air security law" - claiming such preventive measures were unconstitutional and would essentially be state-sponsored murder, even if such an act would save many more lives on the ground. The Federal Constitutional Court (in German: Bundesverfassungsgericht BVerfG) is a special Court established by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic The main reasoning behind this decision was that the state would be effectively taking the lives of innocent hostages in order to avoid a terrorist attack. The Court also ruled that the Minister of Defense is constitutionally not entitled to act in terrorism matters, as this is the duty of the state and federal police forces. A defence minister (or defense minister) is a Cabinet position which regulates the Armed forces in some sovereign nations See the German Wikipedia entry, or [3]
The President of Germany, Horst Köhler, himself urged judicial review of the constitutionality of the Luftsicherheitsgesetz after he signed it into law in 2005. The President of Germany (deutscher Bundespräsident is Germany 's Head of state. Horst Köhler ( born 22 February 1943) is a German politician ( CDU) and economist who serves as the current President of Germany.
International law issues
Tokyo Convention
See the United Nations website for full text on "Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft". [4]
Hague Convention
Signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft contains 14 articles relating to what constitutes hijacking, and guidelines for what is expected of governments when dealing with hijackings. Events 755 - An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The convention does not apply to customs, law enforcement or military aircraft, thus its scope appears to exclusively encompass civilian aircraft. Importantly, the convention only comes into force if the aircraft takes off or lands in a place different than its country of registration. For aircraft with joint registration, one country is designated as the registration state for the purpose of the convention.
See the United Nations website for full text. [5]
Montreal Convention
See the United Nations website for full text on "Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation". [6]
See also
- Airport security
- List of notable aircraft hijackings
- List of Cuba-US aircraft hijackings
- List of hijacking of Indian aeroplanes
- D. B. Cooper
- CATSA
- Uli Derickson - Legacy of Courage
References
- ^ "Air China pilot hijacks his own jet to Taiwan", CNN, 1998-10-28. Airport security refers to the techniques and methods used in protecting Airports and Aircraft from Crime. The following is a list of notable Aircraft hijackings around the world Aircraft hijacking incidents between the United States and Cuba reached their peak in 1969 1971 January 30: An Indian Airlines plane on its way from Srinagar to Jammu was hijacked by Hashim Quereshi and Ashraf Quereshi D B Cooper is the name attributed to a man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the United States on November 24 1971 received The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA ( French: Administration canadienne de la sûreté du transport aérien, or ACSTA is a Canadian Crown corporation Cable News Network, usually referred to by its Initialism CNN, is a major English language Television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Retrieved on 2007-01-25. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate
- ^ B. Raman (2000-01-02). 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. PLANE HIJACKING: IN PERSPECTIVE. South Asia Analysis Group. South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG is a non-profit Think tank based in India which conducts public interest and advocacy work Retrieved on 2007-01-25. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate
- ^ An amusing footnote to this hijacking is that 30 years later the same pilot was again the victim of a failed hijacking attempt. A father and son boarded his Continental Airlines Boeing 707 in El Paso and tried to force him at gunpoint to fly the plane to Cuba in hopes of a cash reward from Fidel Castro. Continental Airlines Inc ( is a United States certificated air carrier. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until FBI agents and police chased the plane down the runway and shot out its tires, and the hijacking was averted. See http://www.airdisaster.com/features/hijack/hijack.shtml
- ^ EC FP6 SAFEE: Safe Automatic Flight Back and Landing of Aircraft
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