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List of Cuba–United States aircraft hijackings

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Cuba is 90 miles (145 kilometres) south of Florida in the US

Aircraft hijacking incidents between the United States and Cuba reached their peak in 1969. These incidents have variously been attributed to terrorism, extortion, flight for political asylum, and transportation between the two countries as a result of the ongoing antagonistic Cuba-United States relations. Subsequent measures by both governments contributed to a gradual reduction of reported incidents towards the mid 1970s. Governmental measures included an amendment to Cuban law which made hijacking a crime in 1970, the introduction of metal detectors in US airports in 1973, and a joint agreement between the US and Cuba signed in Sweden to return or prosecute hijackers.

Below is a non-comprehensive list of hijacking incidents of aircraft between Cuba and the United States.

1950s

  • November 1, 1958 A Cubana Vickers Viscount en route from Miami to Varadero to Havana is hijacked by Cuban militants. The hijackers were trying to land at Sierra Cristal in Eastern Cuba to deliver weapons to Raúl Castro's rebels. As night approached, eventually the plane ran out of fuel and tried an emergency landing at the Preston sugar mill, it did not make it and instead landed in the ocean and broke apart killing most passengers and crew, there were three or four survivors.
  • April 15, 1959 A plane is hijacked from Cuba to Miami. The hijackers were four members of Batista´s Army (three were from the SIM—the Military Intelligence—and one was an aviation mechanic). The airplane is returned by the US.

1960s

  • March 27, 1966 Angel María Betancourt Cueto, armed with a pistol, tries to hijack a plane from Santiago de Cuba to Havana, with 97 persons, in an attempt to reach the US. The pilot, Fernando Álvarez Pérez, opposed the hijacking and landed in Havana. The hijacker then killed Alvares and air-steward Edor Reyes, seriously wounding the copilot Evans Rosales. The event had a large effect on Cubans. The hijacker later was caught and executed.

1968

  • February 17, 1968 Thomas J. Boynton hijacks a private charter Piper Apache from Marathon, Florida to Cuba. He returned to the United States via Canada on November 1, 1969 and was sentenced to 20 years for kidnapping.
  • February 21 Lawrence Rhodes hijacks a DC-8 from Tampa, Florida to Cuba. He surrenders in Spain on February 10, 1970. A January 4, 1971 hijacking charge against him is dismissed; he was committed to a mental institution; on July 8, 1971 he returns to prison; he is sentenced to 25 years for robbery on July 17, 1972.
  • March 12 Three Cubans hijack a DC-8 from Tampa, Florida to Cuba; all are fugitives.
  • July 1 Velasquez Fonseca, born in Cuba, hijacks a B-727 from Chicago to Cuba.
  • July 12 Leonard Bendicks hijacks a Cessna 210 from Key West, Florida, to Cuba. He is deported to the US in September 1968. On March 4, 1971, he is sentenced to 10 years for kidnapping.
Aircraft at Terminal 3 of José Martí international airport in Havana
  • July 17 Hernandez Leyva, a Cuban, hijacks a DC-8 from Los Angeles to Cuba.
  • August 4 Jessie Willis hijacks a Cessna 182 from Naples, Florida to Cuba; he returns voluntarily via Mexico on January 10, 1969; he is sentenced to 10 years for kidnapping; he is paroled on July 28, 1971.
  • October 23 Alben Truitt, the grandson of former U.S. Vice President Alben Barkley, hijacks a Cessna 177 from Key West to Cuba; he returns via Canada in February 1969; he is sentenced to 20 years for aircraft piracy and 20 years for kidnapping (to run consecutively).
  • November 4 Raymond Johnson hijacks a B-727 from New Orleans to Cuba.
  • November 23 Five Cubans hijack a B-727 from Chicago to Cuba.
  • November 30 Montesino Sanchez, a Cuban, hijacks a B-720 from Miami to Cuba.
  • December 5 Eduardo Castera hijacks a B-727 from Tampa to Cuba.
  • December 11 Two men hijack a DC-8 from St. Louis to Cuba.

1969

  • January 2, 1969 Two Americans hijack a DC-8 from New York to Cuba.
  • January 9 Ronald Bohle, a 21-year-old Purdue University student, hijacks a B-727 from Miami to Cuba; he returns via Canada on November 1, 1969, and is sentenced to 20 years for air piracy on July 6, 1972.
  • January 11 A man hijacks a B-727 from Jacksonville, Florida to Cuba; he returns via Canada on May 5, 1969; he is acquitted of air piracy and kidnapping on grounds of temporary insanity.
  • January 13 A man unsuccessfully attempts to hijack a CU-880 from Detroit to Cuba; he is sentenced on July 31, 1969, to 15 years for interference with a flight crew; he had a history of mental illness.
  • January 24, 1969 A man hijacks a B-727 from Key West to Cuba; he was a 19-year-old Navy deserter who “didn't want to go to Vietnam”.
  • January 28 Two men successfully hijack a DC-8 from Los Angeles to Cuba; they are prison escapees.
  • January 31 Allan Sheffield hijacks a DC-8 from San Francisco to Cuba; he says he is “tired of TV dinners and tired of seeing people starve in the world”.
  • February 3 A 21-year old student and his girlfriend attempt to hijack a plane from New York City to Cuba; when the pilot refuels in Miami, the hijackers allow the passengers to deplane; the police capture the hijackers.
  • February 10 A man born in Cuba hijacks a DC-8 from Atlanta to Cuba.
  • February 25 A man hijacks a DC-8 from Atlanta to Cuba; he surrenders to U.S. authorities in Prague, CSR, in September 1969; he is sentenced to life imprisonment on July 7, 1970.
  • March 6 Black Panther Tony Bryant (d. 1999 at 60) hijacks a National Airlines plane enroute from NY to Miami and directed it to Cuba. He was arrested in Cuba and spent a year and a half in jail and was pardoned in 1980. His 1984 book “Hijack” described his experience in Cuban prisons.
Jacksonville airport Florida
  • March 17 A man hijacks an airliner from Atlanta to Cuba; he returns via Canada on November 1, 1969; he is committed to a mental institution on February 1, 1972; he is released on second 18-month furlough on December 5, 1973.
  • March 19 A man tries to hijack a CV-880 from Dallas to Cuba; he ends up in New Orleans; charges are dismissed due to insanity.
  • May 5 Jean-Pierre Charrette and Alain Alard (one Canadian, one unknown) successfully hijack a B-727 from New York to Cuba.
  • May 23 Three men born in Cuba successfully hijack a B-727 from Miami to Cuba.
  • June 17 A man hijacks a B-707 from Oakland to Cuba.
  • June 22 A man born in Cuba hijacks a DC-8 from Newark, NJ, to Cuba.
  • June 25 A man successfully hijacks a DC-8 from Los Angeles to Cuba.
  • June 28 A man successfully hijacks B-727 from Baltimore to Cuba. He returns via Canada in November 1969; he is sentenced to 15 years for interference with a flight crew on October 6, 1970.
  • July 26 A man hijacks a DC-8 from El Paso, Texas, to Cuba. He returns via Canada on November 1, 1969; he is sentenced to 50 years for aircraft piracy on September 14, 1970.
  • July 31 A man successfully hijacks a B-727 from Pittsburgh to Cuba.
  • August 5 A Man unsuccessfully tries to hijack a DC-9 from Philadelphia to Cuba; charges are dismissed on January 12, 1970; he is committed to a mental institution; he is discharged on September 15, 1971.
  • August 14 Two Cubans hijack a B-727 from Boston to Cuba.
  • August 29 A Cuban hijacks a B-727 from Miami to Cuba.
  • September 7 A man hijacks a DC-8 from New York to Cuba.
  • September 10 A Puerto Rican unsuccessfully tries to hijack a DC-8 (scheduled for San Juan) to Cuba; he is committed to mental institution on January 30, 1970; he is released in December 1971.
  • October 9 A man hijacks a DC-8 from Los Angeles to Cuba.
  • October 21 A man hijacks a B-720 from Mexico City to Cuba. He committed suicide in Cuba on September 28, 1970.
  • November 4 Two armed men seize a Nicaraguan airliner en route from Miami to Mexico; they divert it to Cuba.
  • December 26 M. Martinez (alias) hijacks a B-727 from New York to Cuba.

1970s

1970

  • February 16, 1970 A man who was born in Cuba, with wife and two children, successfully hijacks a B-727 from Newark to Cuba.
  • March 11 A man hijacks a B-727 from Cleveland to Cuba; he is imprisoned in Cuba for attempting to escape; he is fatally shot escaping from prison on March 26, 1973.
  • April 22 Ira David Meeks hijacks a small plane from the United States to Cuba.
  • May 25 A man successfully hijacks a B-727 from Chicago to Cuba.
  • July 1 George Lopez hijacks a DC-8 from Las Vegas to Cuba.
  • August 2 A man hijacks a plane bound for San Juan from New York to Cuba.
  • August 19 Three men (two born in Cuba, one born in Spain) hijack a DC-3 from Newark to Cuba (the plane's destination was San Juan).
  • August 20 A man successfully hijacks a DC-9 from Atlanta to Cuba.
  • September 19 A man successfully hijacks a B-727 from Pittsburgh to Cuba.
  • October 30 L. Rosas hijacks a DC-8 from Miami to Cuba.
  • November 1 A man born in Mexico successfully hijacks a B-727 from San Diego to Cuba; he has two children with him.
  • November 13 A man hijacks an airliner from Raleigh to Cuba.
  • December 19 A man attempts to hijack a DC-9 from Albuquerque to Cuba. He is taken into custody at Tulsa; he is sentenced to 5 years subject to a medical mental examination for conveying false information about an attempt to commit air piracy.

1971

  • February 4 A man successfully hijacks a DC-9 from Chicago to Cuba.
  • February 25 A man successfully hijacks a B-727 from San Francisco to Cuba or Canada; he ends up in Canada; he is deported on March 8, 1971; he is sentenced to 10 years for interference with a flight crew.
  • March 31 A man born in Venezuela successfully hijacks a DC-8 from New York to Cuba; he returns to the United States via Bermuda on October 8, 1974.
Key West International Airport Florida
  • April 5 A former Cuban hijacks a Cessna 402 from Key West to Cuba.
  • July 11 A Cubana de Aviación aircraft is hijacked at Cienfuegos, Cuba (Cienfuegos Airport) resulting in one fatality. The two hijackers were taken down and the hijacking lasted less than one day.
  • July 24 A man born in Cuba successfully hijacks a DC-8 from Miami to Cuba, a stewardess and a passenger are wounded.
  • September 3 A man born in Cuba, attempts to hijack a plane from Chicago to Cuba; he is sentenced to 20 years for interference with a flight crew on March 6, 1972.
  • October 9 A man forces his way aboard a B-727 in Detroit and hijacks it to Cuba.
  • October 18 A man born in Canada, unsuccessfully attempts to hijack a B-737 from Anchorage to Cuba; the attempt ends in Vancouver; he is deported to the United States on October 19, 1971, and is sentenced to 20 years for air piracy on May 12, 1972.
  • October 25 A man born in Puerto Rico, successfully hijacks a B-747 from New York to Cuba; the plane was bound for San Juan.
  • October 29 A man, his two sons, and a third youth hijack an Eastern Airlines jet from Houston to Havana. They kill a ticket agent during seizure of plane.

1972

  • January 7, 1972 A man and a woman hijack a B-727 from San Francisco to Cuba.
  • March 7 Two men force their way aboard a Chalk's Flying Service Grumman 73 (G/A) in Miami, Florida, wounding the pilot, a mechanic, and a bystander. They hijack the plane to Cuba.
  • March 19 A man and a woman successfully hijack a Cessna 206 from Key West to Cuba.
  • May 4-6 Michael Hansen hijacks a B-737 flight from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles; he wants to go to Hanoi or Cuba; he goes to Cuba.
  • October 29 Four men force their way aboard an aircraft. They kill a ticket agent, wound a ramp serviceman, and hijack a plane to Cuba.
  • November 10 Three men successfully hijack a DC-9 from Birmingham to Cuba with $10 million and 10 parachutes. The co-pilot is wounded; they threaten to crash the plane into one of the Oak Ridge nuclear installations; at McCoy Air Force Base, Orlando, the FBI shoots out the tires; the plane finally lands on a foam-covered runway in Havana; two are sentenced in Cuba to 20 years, one to 15 years.

1974

  • December 14, 1974 Robin Harrison charters a plane by phone. On arrival at the airport office in Tampa, he points gun at the pilot of a Piper Seneca and demands a flight to Cuba.

1980s

  • Sept. 13, 1980 A Delta Air Lines from New Orleans, bound for Atlanta, is hijacked. The pilot flew to Havana, the hijackers were removed from the plane and the flight, with 81 passengers, continued to Atlanta.

1990s

  • February 4, 1992 Luis Rodríguez hijacks a plane from Cuba with other eight people. The plane ran out of fuel and fell to the sea near the Florida keys. There were no survivors.
  • July 26, 1996 An Iberia Airlines jumbo jet flying from Madrid to Havana with 286 people aboard is forced to land in Miami by a man brandishing scissors and a fake bomb. No one is injured.
  • August 16, 1996 Commercial pilot Adel Given Ulloa and two other workers of Aerotaxi, Leonardo Reyes and José Roberto Bello, force pilot Adolfo Pérez Pantoja to fly to the United States. The plane ran out of fuel in the Florida straights and fell to the sea 50 km south of Fort Myers. They were collected by a Russian ship. The three were declared not guilty of hijacking by a court in Tampa. All remained in the US.

2000s

  • September 19, 2000 An Antonov An-2 crashs into the sea west of Cuba. Cuban authorities said the plane was hijacked after take-off from Pinar del Rio.
  • August 14, 2001 An elderly couple attempts to hijack a plane and force the pilot to fly to Cuba. In the ensuing scuffle the plane crashed into the sea near Florida and the couple drowned.
  • November 11 2002 A Cuban An-2 aircraft, registration No. CU-C1086, is hijacked. The plane landed at the Pinar del Rio airport before flying to Key West in Florida.
  • March 19 2003 Six men, some armed with knives, take control of a Cuban state airline plane as it heads to Havana from Cuba's Isle of Youth. US Air Force fighter jets intercepted the DC-3 plane, run by Cuban state airline Aerotaxi, shortly before it reached Florida late on Wednesday evening. The US jets then escorted the plane to Key West's airport, where the suspects surrendered without incident.
  • March 31 2003 A Cuban airliner is successfully hijacked to Key West with 32 people on board.
  • April 1, 2003 A man carrying two grenades hijacks a Cuban domestic airliner demanding that it fly to the United States; it landed in Havana due to insufficient fuel.

References

  1. ^ Testing a rational choice model of airline hijackings Study of data
  2. Accident details planecrashinfo.com
  3. ^ Hijacked Airplanes
  4. Hijacker: Cuba Suspected Spying The Miami Herald
  5. ^ Cuban Political Violence in the United States Disorders and terrorism, National Advisory Committee, on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals Washington: 1976. Report of the Task Force on Disorders and Terrorism Appendix 6: Chronology of incidents of terroristic, quasi-terroristic attacks, and political violence in the United States:January 1965 to March 1976 By Marcia McKnight Trick
  6. NBC Evening News for Wednesday, Aug 13, 1969
  7. Timeline Cuba
  8. N.C. hijacker who forced plane to Cuba dies at 59 The Associated Press
  9. ^ Cuban Political Violence in the United States Disorders and terrorism, National Advisory Committee, on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals Washington: 1976. Report of the Task Force on Disorders and Terrorism Appendix 6: Chronology of incidents of terroristic, quasi-terroristic attacks, and political violence in the United States:January 1965 to March 1976 By Marcia McKnight Trick
  10. Cuban Man Gets 10 Years for Hijacking The Associated Press
  11. ^ Attempted hijackings in Cuba since 1987
  12. [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0009/19/bn.02.html Cuban Plane Hijacked Aired September 19 2000] CNN transcripts
  13. Events Related To Cuba Harpers Magazine
  14. PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
  15. Cuba's sweep of dissidents intensifies with at least 55 detained Yahoo News
  16. Cuba Hijacking 4 1 0072 Cuban airliner lands in Havana Kyodo World News Service

See also

External links

Cuba Cuba–United States relations United States
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