World's first plane hijacking: A 20-minute flight that took off from Macau but never reached..., it was hijacked by...
The event that changed the history of aviation, started with a seaplane being taken over by 'air pirates.' Let's take a look at what the Hong Kong mail called 'unparalleled in the history of aviation.'
Flights, at that time were only for the rich. With a 'cigarette flight' between Macau and Hong Kong suddenly crashing, and the sole survivor telling different tales and acting suspicious led authorities to dig deeper within what actually happened.
Were there pirates in the air?
On July 16, 1948, the plane 'Miss Macao,' took off from Macau with 27 people on board, but 4 of them had no intention of going to Hong Kong. The survivor, Wong Yu, a 24 year-old rice farmer, along with his three fellow mates bought the plane tickets by selling everything they owned, tried to grab control of the airplane from the pilot. One of them learned how to fly a plane as the men thought the proceeds from the crime could get them rich.
According to historians, the lead hijacker wanted to gain control of the flight once he subdued the pilots, but things went unexpectedly wrong!
The hijackers did not expect the pilots to resist, which led them shooting both of them, sending the captain's body on the plane's joystick and it plummeting into the South China Sea.
How did the police get to know?
The plane's wreckage proved everything the survivor told was false. But after seeing Wong's poor physical and mental condition, the police could not resort to harsh conditions.
What they did instead was clever, undercover cops in the form of patients went to Wong, and befriended him, which led to him eventually admitting everything to them.
He confessed that the plan was all about gaining the plane's control, stealing valuables and holding the people for ransom, death was not a part of the plan.
The 'air pirates,' tied their guns to their socks and escaped the bare minimum security checks at the time.
How 'skyjacking' evolved?
After this event storming newspapers, people got more ideas and this became extremely common. With the boom of the aviation industry, there was a boom in the number of skyjackings as well. It started from stealing and ransom, and got to a point where hijackers' killed people and crashed planes for political reasons. From 1968 to 1972, airlines went through the 'golden age of hijacking,' with one happening every five and a half days, and costed the industry $219,221 per passenger.
This recklessness brought strict action, with airports becoming miniature police states and strict security procedures being implemented, the numbers greatly reduced, so much that there is a negligible chance of a plane getting hijacked nowadays.
What happened on the Miss Macao was not a singular story, but the first of many aviation incidents that transformed air travel. Before 'the golden age of hijacking' or the September 11, 2001 attacks, one nearly forgotten seaplane set a new age of aviation into motion.
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India.com
10 hours ago
- India.com
World's first plane hijacking: A 20-minute flight that took off from Macau but never reached..., it was hijacked by...
World's first plane hijacking: A 20-minute flight that took off from Macau but never reached..., it was hijacked by... The event that changed the history of aviation, started with a seaplane being taken over by 'air pirates.' Let's take a look at what the Hong Kong mail called 'unparalleled in the history of aviation.' Flights, at that time were only for the rich. With a 'cigarette flight' between Macau and Hong Kong suddenly crashing, and the sole survivor telling different tales and acting suspicious led authorities to dig deeper within what actually happened. Were there pirates in the air? On July 16, 1948, the plane 'Miss Macao,' took off from Macau with 27 people on board, but 4 of them had no intention of going to Hong Kong. The survivor, Wong Yu, a 24 year-old rice farmer, along with his three fellow mates bought the plane tickets by selling everything they owned, tried to grab control of the airplane from the pilot. One of them learned how to fly a plane as the men thought the proceeds from the crime could get them rich. According to historians, the lead hijacker wanted to gain control of the flight once he subdued the pilots, but things went unexpectedly wrong! The hijackers did not expect the pilots to resist, which led them shooting both of them, sending the captain's body on the plane's joystick and it plummeting into the South China Sea. How did the police get to know? The plane's wreckage proved everything the survivor told was false. But after seeing Wong's poor physical and mental condition, the police could not resort to harsh conditions. What they did instead was clever, undercover cops in the form of patients went to Wong, and befriended him, which led to him eventually admitting everything to them. He confessed that the plan was all about gaining the plane's control, stealing valuables and holding the people for ransom, death was not a part of the plan. The 'air pirates,' tied their guns to their socks and escaped the bare minimum security checks at the time. How 'skyjacking' evolved? After this event storming newspapers, people got more ideas and this became extremely common. With the boom of the aviation industry, there was a boom in the number of skyjackings as well. It started from stealing and ransom, and got to a point where hijackers' killed people and crashed planes for political reasons. From 1968 to 1972, airlines went through the 'golden age of hijacking,' with one happening every five and a half days, and costed the industry $219,221 per passenger. This recklessness brought strict action, with airports becoming miniature police states and strict security procedures being implemented, the numbers greatly reduced, so much that there is a negligible chance of a plane getting hijacked nowadays. What happened on the Miss Macao was not a singular story, but the first of many aviation incidents that transformed air travel. Before 'the golden age of hijacking' or the September 11, 2001 attacks, one nearly forgotten seaplane set a new age of aviation into motion.
NDTV
13 hours ago
- NDTV
World's First "Air Piracy" Was A 20 Minutes "Cigarette Flight" En Route Macau
There were no metal detectors or scanners at the airport in 1948. It was a short flight between Portuguese-controlled Macau and British-controlled Hong Kong. Twenty minutes was all it took. And one such routine journey turned into a nightmare when a Cathay Pacific-operated seaplane, Miss Macau, became the world's first recorded airplane hijacking. In fact, the idea of hijacking didn't even exist at the time. People would call it "air piracy." With no proper airport or runway, planes would take off from Macau's coastal waters for what were then referred to as "cigarette flights" for their duration. According to CNN, shortly after the flight took off with 24 passengers, two pilots and one flight attendant, four armed men hijacked the aircraft over the Pearl River Delta in an attempt to loot the passengers. The plane was captained by American pilot Dale Cramer and Australian first officer Ken McDuff. Macau was the only place in the Far East where gold trading was permitted. Hence, wealthy individuals would routinely travel between Macau and Hong Kong, carrying gold and cash. This route became a popular target for robbers. The hijackers planned to seize control of the aircraft and rob the passengers. So, one of the hijackers went into the cockpit and demanded controls, which the Captain refused to hand over. A struggle broke out between a passenger and one of the hijackers, who pulled out his gun. When the hijackers shot both pilots, the captain's body slumped forward onto the joystick control, causing the aircraft to nose-dive. Within moments, Miss Macao plunged into the South China Sea, killing 25 of the 26 people onboard. The only survivor was a hijacker, a 24-year-old Chinese rice farmer named Wong Yu, rescued by a fisherman and taken to the hospital. Historian Luis Andrade de Sa, in his book "Aviation in Macau: One Hundred Years of Adventure," explained that the lead hijacker, Chiu Tok, had taken flying lessons in Manila. His plan was to fly the plane himself once the pilots handed him controls, reported Simple Flying. At the time, there were no metal detectors, and bags were only lightly checked without proper investigation. So, the hijackers tied their guns to their legs using black string. One of them even hid bullets in the hollow sole of his shoe, according to the South China Morning Post. The question of who should prosecute Wong after his capture remained ambiguous because Macao's Portuguese officials claimed that since the plane belonged to a British corporation, the case should be heard in Hong Kong. But because all of the hijackers were Chinese, British officials in Hong Kong refused to take up the case. Wong was ultimately returned to mainland China in 1951. He was never put on trial for robbery, murder, or air piracy, and died at the age of 27.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
9/11 mastermind faces death sentence: Trial at Guantanamo Bay could seal Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's fate
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed , the alleged chief architect of the September 11 attacks that altered the course of US history, might now be facing the death penalty after a plea bargain, which would have saved his life, was rejected by a US court, as per a report. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Might Soon Face Death Penalty Mohammed, imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay since 2006, had pleaded guilty for a life term, along with two other men, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, struck a deal on July 31 to escape the death penalty, reported The Sun. He and al-Hawsawi were captured after a joint CIA and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence operation in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi in 2003, according to the report. After which Mohammed spent three years in secret prisons before arriving at Guantanamo in 2006, according to The Sun report. Mohammed reportedly planned out the deadly 9/11 attacks from "A to Z", and was also involved in a string of major plots against the United States, where he attended university, as reported by The Sun. Meanwhile, Walid bin Attash was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, in April 2003, as per the report. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nejpohodlnější kožené vycházkové boty pro muže v roce 2025! Sodand Koupit Nyní Undo The deal would lead the trio to be prevented from the death penalty and remain jailed on the southern portion of the American Naval base in Cuba, reported The Sun. ALSO READ: Elon Musk sparks chaos by unfollowing Stephen Miller's wife Katie — what really happened? Live Events Court Rejects Plea Agreement, Orders Full Trial However, that agreement was met with fury by the 9/11 attacks victims' relatives as they opposed the decision, as per the report. A US appeals court on Friday rejected the agreement and ordered that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial, as reported by The Sun. Ex-Defense Secretary Intervenes to Halt the Deal The former Secretary of Defence under the Biden administration, Lloyd Austin , had tried to stop the agreement by filing a motion to a military appeals court, according to the report. In his brief, he mentioned the magnitude of the 9/11 attacks and argued that as defence secretary, he should decide on any plea deals that would save the trio from the death penalty, as reported by The Sun. ALSO READ: McDonald's in hot water after AI tool with laughably weak password '123456' gets hacked, data of 64M job seekers exposed Judges Uphold Defense Secretary's Authority Judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao wrote in a ruling on Friday that Austin "acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment," as quoted in the report. What Are Politicians Saying About the Plea Deal? Even Congressional lawmakers have also slammed the plea deal, saying that it a "national disgrace" and a "total miscarriage of justice," reported The Sun. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "The plea deal with terrorists – including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that killed thousands of Americans – is a revolting abdication of the government's responsibility to defend America and provide justice," as quoted in the report. McConnell highlighted that, "The only thing worse than negotiating with terrorists is negotiating with them after they are in custody," as quoted in the report. FAQs Who is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? He's the man accused of planning the 9/11 attacks that devastated the US in 2001, as per The Sun report. Could Mohammed still get the death penalty? Yes, since the plea deal was rejected, the death sentence is back on the table, as per The Sun report.
