For What Motive Aircraft Are Hijacked?
Since from the beginning of International flight services, aircraft began to be hijacked with different motives. However, at that time, aircraft were hijacked for the fulfillment of personal aspirations rather than political intension’s. Sometimes, hijacker used to hijack the aircraft being the victim of criminal psychology. Nevertheless, hijacking the aircraft being inspired from political motive used to be rare.
For example- In 1953, DC-3 aircraft of one of the commercial airlines of Czechoslovakia on which 25 passengers were on-board was hijacked by it’s one of the pilot Meera Slovak, where she took the aircraft to Frankfurt in-order to be free from the Czechoslovakia communist’s claw. Similarly, in 1960’s and 1970’s dozens of aircraft were hijacked being inspired from pilot Meera’s act.
Hijackers even started to hijack the aircraft in-order to get rid from the claw of law and to get huge amount of money as ransom from the government.
One of the famous incidents took place in 1972. A person named as DC Coper hijacked an aircraft from Portland, USA. He forced the pilot of that aircraft to land in Seattle, USA in-order to ask for ransom and parachute from the government. After receiving ransom and parachute, he ordered pilot to make the aircraft airborne. As soon as the aircraft reached to cruising altitude, he jumped out of the aircraft along with his bag full of ransom money. Until now, no one has been able to find him.
In the decades of 1970, the terrorist hijacked at least 150 aircraft in USA.
According to the Philip Baum, writer of “Hindery of Aircraft Hijacking and Bombing” and administrative director of GreenLight (aircraft security counselor), from the past 15 years the aircraft hijacking has been regarded as a matter of high risk and after the September 11 incident, hijackers have started to feel the aggressive defense of crew members and passengers onboard the aircraft.
