hijacking

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Why America's 1st Hijacker Killed a Man at 5K Feet

Earnest Pletch shot the pilot at close range

(Newser) - America's first hijacker gunned down a pilot at close range, yet lived much of his life a free man—apparently thanks to the pilot's wife. Indiana man Earnest Pletch wandered during his younger days in the 1920s and '30s, working for a traveling show and marrying at...

In 'Race Against Time,' Italy Saves Ship on Crash Course

Smugglers set boat loaded with migrants on collision course with coast

(Newser) - The Italian Coast Guard rescued 970 migrants today after smugglers put their cargo ship on automatic pilot heading straight for a crash into the Italian coast and abandoned the command. The Coast Guard officials said the migrants, most believed to be Syrians and including many children and pregnant women, arrived...

Plane Forced to Land in Geneva, Hijacker Busted
 Co-Pilot Hijacks Plane, 
 Demands Asylum 
UPDATED
Feb 17, 2014 7:51 AM CST

Co-Pilot Hijacks Plane, Demands Asylum

All Ethiopian Airlines passengers safe after Geneva landing

(Newser) - An Ethiopian Airlines plane was hijacked early today by its own co-pilot, who was seeking asylum in Switzerland. The co-pilot locked himself in the cockpit when the pilot went to the toilet, and flew the Boeing 767-300—which had taken off from Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and was headed to...

'Homesick Hijacker' Returns to US After 29 Years

William Potts in FBI custody after return from Cuba

(Newser) - An American who hijacked an airliner to Cuba nearly 30 years ago as a self-described revolutionary was in custody today, a day after returning home on a charter flight from Havana. The FBI says agents took William Potts, 56, into custody shortly after his flight arrived at Miami International Airport....

2 Suspects Dead After Foiled China Hijacking

But Uighur rights group says it wasn't a hijacking at all

(Newser) - A pair of accused hijackers have died following a foiled attempt to take control of a plane in China's Xinjiang region, state media says. Six Uighur men were arrested Friday in the incident, in which suspects wielding explosives used a crutch to pummel the cockpit door. Four crew members...

Terrorists Could Hijack Drones: Researchers

Worrisome, since drones could be flying over US soon

(Newser) - Another reason to be wary of increasing reliance on unmanned drones in the US: They could be easily hijacked by terrorists. A University of Texas researcher illustrated that fact in a series of test flights recently, showing that GPS "spoofing" could cause a drone to veer off its course...

Woman Says DB Cooper Was Her Uncle

Actually, his name was Lynn Doyle Cooper, says Marla Cooper

(Newser) - Marla Cooper (yes, Cooper) says she knows the true identity of "skyjacker" DB Cooper: His name was Lynn Doyle Cooper, known to family members as LD, and he was her uncle, Marla tells ABC News . She recalls a suspicious conversation between LD and another uncle she overheard as an...

Hot Lead in DB Cooper Case
 Hot Lead in DB Cooper Case 
Aug 1, 2011 4:55 AM CDT

Hot Lead in DB Cooper Case

FBI comparing suspect's fingerprints with those found on plane

(Newser) - Forty years later, the FBI just might be closer to nailing the bold hijacker who parachuted, scot-free, from a plane with $200,000 in ransom. Officials say they have their "most promising" lead yet in the decades-long search for DB Cooper. A suspect's name and an unrevealed piece...

Staff, Passengers Subdue Would-Be Paris Hijacker

Kazakhstan man holds knife to flight attendant's throat

(Newser) - Flight staff and passengers tackled and subdued a would-be hijacker yesterday after he held a small knife to the throat of a flight attendant and ordered an Alitalia flight from Paris to fly to Tripoli. The plane and all 131 passengers landed safely in Rome. The attacker was identified as...

Pirates Kill All 4 American Hostages

US officials have killed or captured all the pirates

(Newser) - The four Americans on a yacht captured by Somali pirates Friday have been shot and killed by their captors, NBC News reports, and US forces killed two pirates and captured the remaining 13. Phyllis Macay, Robert Riggle and the yacht’s owners Jean and Scott Adam were captured on a...

Somali Pirates Hijack 4 Americans

California couple on round-the-world mission since 2004

(Newser) - Somali pirates yesterday hijacked a yacht with four Americans aboard, in likely retaliation for the 33-year prison sentence this week of a pirate in the hijacking of the US vessel Maersk Alabama. The yacht Quest belongs to missionaries Jean and Scott Adam, who have been sailing around the world since...

Greyhound Bus Hijacker Nailed
 Greyhound Bus Hijacker Nailed 
Feb 4, 2011 1:40 AM CST

Greyhound Bus Hijacker Nailed

Incident ends without injury after passenger alerts police

(Newser) - A bus hijacking in North Carolina last night ended without injury when cops pounced on an armed man threatening to blow up the vehicle. The hijacker boarded the Richmond–Raleigh bus along a North Carolina highway and ordered the driver to relinquish the vehicle, AP reports. The gunman allowed everybody...

Nepal Airport on High Alert After Hijack Warning

Al-Qaeda-linked extremists believed to be targeting Asian flights

(Newser) - Nepal's only international airport has been placed on high alert after warnings from Indian authorities that it could be the target of a terror plot. Intelligence suggests that flights in Nepal and other South Asian countries are part of a new plot by al-Qaeda, AP reports. Travelers using Kathmandu's airport...

Somali Pirates Hijack Tanker and Cargo Ship

214 vessels have been attacked this year

(Newser) - Somali pirates have seized a Greek cargo ship and a chemical tanker operating under a British flag, the New York Times reports. That puts 2009's Somali hijacking total at 47, with 214 vessels attacked in the Gulf of Aden and along the Somali coast. Twelve ships—carrying 263 people—are...

Pirates Hijack Yacht, Kidnap UK Couple

Brits reportedly safe after yacht seized off Somalia

(Newser) - A British couple whose yacht went missing in the Indian Ocean four days ago is being held by Somali pirates. The couple was captured during a round-the-world trip while sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania; five international warships were searching hundreds of miles off the African coast for the pair....

Fugitive in '68 Hijack Nabbed at JFK

After 41 years in Cuba, alleged hijacker could face life in prison

(Newser) - A longtime fugitive who allegedly hijacked a plane in 1968 and diverted it to Cuba was arrested yesterday at JFK Airport in New York and will be arraigned tomorrow. Luis Armando Pena Soltren, now 66, is accused of smuggling weapons inside a diaper bag and terrorizing dozens of passengers 41...

Bible-Toting Hijacker: 'Christ Is Coming Soon'

Acted on 'revelation,' with 'Father, Son and Holy Ghost' riding shotgun

(Newser) - The Bolivian man who commandeered a Mexican airliner today told authorities he was acting after a divine revelation, the AP reports, under the premise that today’s date—9/9/09—is the satanic number 666 upside down. Jose Flores, 44, told airline attendants that he and three others were taking control;...

Russia Arrests 8 in Ship Hijacking

(Newser) - Russia's navy arrested eight men accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea freighter near Sweden and forcing the crew to sail to West Africa, the defense minister said today. The suspected hijackers were detained by the naval vessel that found the Russian-crewed freighter yesterday off Cape Verde, thousands of miles from...

Russians Find Mystery Ship, Crew Alive Onboard

(Newser) - The Russian ship that mysteriously disappeared nearly three weeks ago has been found off the West African coast, with all 15 crew members aboard, Russia’s defense minister announced today. The crew is now aboard the Russian frigate that found them. The defense minister said the crew was not under...

Ransom Demand Made for Lost Ship

(Newser) - The missing Maltese-flagged ship that was reported off the coast of Africa appears to have been hijacked for a second time, CNN reports. “There has been a demand for ransom,” a Finnish police official said of the Russian-crewed Arctic Sea. “We are now dealing with two separate...

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