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Trans Australia Airlines Flight 408: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Attempted hijacking in 1960}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}}
{{Infobox Airliner accident
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
|name=TAA Flight 408
| name = TAA Flight 408
|Date=19 July 1960
| Date = 19 July 1960
|image=Trans Australia Airlines Electra Finney.jpg
| image = Trans Australia Airlines Electra Finney.jpg
|caption=A Trans Australia Airlines Electra, similar to the aircraft involved
| caption = A Trans Australia Airlines Electra, similar to the aircraft involved
|Type=Attempted [[Aircraft hijacking|hijacking]]
| Type = Attempted [[Aircraft hijacking|hijacking]]
|occurrence_type = Hijacking
| occurrence_type = Hijacking
|Site=[[Brisbane]], [[Australia]]
| Site = [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]]
⚫
| coordinates = {{coord|27|28|08.14|S|153|01|24.55|E|display=inline,title|region:AUえーゆー_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}
|Fatalities=none
| Fatalities = 0
|Injuries=none
| Injuries = 0
|Aircraft Type=[[Lockheed L-188 Electra|Lockheed Electra]]
| aircraft_type = [[Lockheed L-188 Electra|Lockheed Electra]]
|Operator=[[Trans Australia Airlines]]
| Operator = [[Trans Australia Airlines]]
|Tail Number=''VH-TLB''
| tail_number = VH-TLB
⚫
|Passengers=43
| occupants = 49
|Crew=6
⚫
| Passengers = 43
| Crew = 6
| Survivors = 49
}}
}}
The '''Trans-Australian Airlines hijacking''' was Australia's first [[aircraft hijacking]]. It occurred on 19 July 1960 over [[Brisbane]] in a [[Trans Australia Airlines]] [[Lockheed L-188 Electra|Lockheed Electra]].
The '''Trans-Australian Airlines hijacking''' was Australia's first [[aircraft hijacking]]. It occurred on 19 July 1960 over [[Brisbane]] in a [[Trans Australia Airlines]] (TAA) [[Lockheed L-188 Electra|Lockheed Electra]].


Forty three passengers and six crew were on board Flight 408, the last Sydney to Brisbane flight for the day. The crew consisted of Hostesses Fay Strugnell and Janeene Christie, Captain John Benton, First Officer Tom R. Bennett, Flight Engineer Fred McDonald, and T.A.A. captain, D.R.Lawrence (traveling as a passenger).<!-- there's a mismatch in the number of crew -->
43 passengers and six crew were on board Flight 408, the last Sydney to Brisbane flight for the day. The crew consisted of hostesses Fay Strugnell and Janeene Christie, captain John Benton, first officer T.&nbsp;R. (Tom) Bennett and flight engineer Fred McDonald. Another TAA pilot, captain D.&nbsp;R. (Dennis) Lawrence, was traveling in the cockpit as a passenger.<!-- there's a mismatch in the number of crew -->


The hijacker, Russian Alex Hildebrandt, had a fully loaded sawn-off [[.22 Long Rifle|.22 calibre rifle]] and had suspended over a torch battery a bare wire attached to a detonator adjoining two sticks of [[gelignite]]. Another wire was attached from the gelignite to the battery. After demanding that the plane be redirected to Singapore,<ref name="age-fooled">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19600831&id=D68UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=grYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7007,5236435 | title='Crew fooled me and saved plane' - alleged statement | work=The Age | date=31 August 1960 | accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref> Hildebrandt fired a shot, which went through the aircraft ceiling, narrowly missing Bennett who punched Hildebrandt and pulled the wires from his hand and disabled the bomb. Captain Dennis Lawrence, an employee of TAA who was travelling as a passenger, assisted Bennett to subdue and disarm the hijacker. Tom Bennett was awarded the [[George Medal]] for his actions and Captain Lawrence was commended.<ref name="age-airlinersaved">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19600721&id=RZ5VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Sa8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6147,3429992 | title=Airliner saved by crew's courage - Praise by detective at court hearing | work=The Age | date=21 July 1960 | accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref><ref>''The Sunday Mail'' (Brisbane), 23 July 1995, Pages 57&87</ref><ref>Contested Skies, John Gunn, {{ISBN|0-7022-3073-1}}, Page 171&172</ref><ref>[http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1073884&search_type=simple&showInd=true "BENNETT, Thomas Ross"]. It's an Honour. Retrieved January 18, 2015.</ref>
The hijacker, Alex Hildebrandt, wielded a sawn-off [[.22 Long Rifle|.22 calibre rifle]], as well as a bomb: two sticks of [[gelignite]], connected to a detonator that would apparently have fired, had Hildebrandt touched a bare wire to a torch battery. After demanding that the plane be redirected to Singapore,<ref name="age-fooled">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19600831&id=D68UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=grYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7007,5236435 | title='Crew fooled me and saved plane' - alleged statement | work=The Age | date=31 August 1960 | accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref> Hildebrandt fired a shot, which went through the aircraft ceiling. Captain Bennett, who had been narrowly missed by the bullet, punched Hildebrandt and pulled the wires from his hand, disabling the bomb. Captain Lawrence assisted Bennett in subduing and disarming the hijacker. Bennett was awarded the [[George Medal]] for his actions and Lawrence was formally commended.<ref name="age-airlinersaved">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19600721&id=RZ5VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Sa8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6147,3429992 | title=Airliner saved by crew's courage - Praise by detective at court hearing | work=The Age | date=21 July 1960 | accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref><ref>''The Sunday Mail'' (Brisbane), 23 July 1995, Pages 57&87</ref><ref>Contested Skies, John Gunn, {{ISBN|0-7022-3073-1}}, Page 171&172</ref><ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1073884 "BENNETT, Thomas Ross"]. It's an Honour. Retrieved 18 January 2015.</ref>


Hildebrandt, who was born in [[the Soviet Union]] in 1938, faced serious charges of attempted murder, having an explosive detonating device with the intention of destroying the aircraft and having explosives capable of causing injuries to persons on board. Hildebrandt was sentenced to three years in jail for attempted murder, ten years for attempting to destroy the aircraft and two years for the explosives charge.{{fact|date=January 2015}}
Hildebrandt, who had been born in the [[Soviet Union]] in 1938, faced serious charges of attempted murder, having an explosive detonating device with the intention of destroying the aircraft and having explosives capable of causing injuries to persons on board. Hildebrandt was sentenced to three years in jail for attempted murder, 10 years for attempting to destroy the aircraft and two years for the explosives charge.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} He successfully appealed the sentence in the [[Queensland Criminal Court]] as he argued that the aircraft which was 35 minutes into the flight, was over [[New South Wales]] (NSW) when he armed the explosives in the aircraft toilet. He served a three-year sentence in Brisbane, for attempted murder and on discharge was arrested by detectives from NSW. He faced court again and was convicted on the charge of attempted destruction of an aircraft and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in NSW.<ref name="smh-bomb">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19630524&id=GjBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UOYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5504,6824722 | title=Seven Years over Bomb | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=24 May 1963 | accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="smh-1969">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19690914&id=-_9jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xucDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4379,4340642 | title=Let's watch out for plane hijackers, too | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=14 September 1969 | accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref>

He successfully appealed the sentence in the [[Queensland Criminal Court]] as he argued that the aircraft which was thirty five minutes into the flight, was over [[New South Wales]] when he armed the explosives in the aircraft toilet. He served a three-year sentence in Brisbane, for attempted murder and on discharge was arrested by detectives from New South Wales. He faced court again and was convicted on the charge of attempted destruction of an aircraft and sentenced to seven in prison in New South Wales.<ref name="smh-bomb">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19630524&id=GjBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UOYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5504,6824722 | title=Seven Years over Bomb | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=24 May 1963 | accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="smh-1969">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19690914&id=-_9jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xucDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4379,4340642 | title=Let's watch out for plane hijackers, too | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=14 September 1969 | accessdate=21 January 2015}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==
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==External links==
==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.taamuseum.org.au/TaaSkyjack.htm |title=Worlds First Aircraft Hijacking |work=Trans-Australian Airlines Museum |accessdate=2008-11-01 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917134814/http://taamuseum.org.au/TaaSkyjack.htm |archivedate=17 September 2009 }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.taamuseum.org.au/TaaSkyjack.htm |title=Worlds First Aircraft Hijacking |work=Trans-Australian Airlines Museum |accessdate=2008-11-01 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917134814/http://taamuseum.org.au/TaaSkyjack.htm |archivedate=17 September 2009 }}
⚫
{{coord|27|28|08.14|S|153|01|24.55|E|display=title|region:AUえーゆー_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}


[[Category:1960 crimes in Australia]]
[[Category:1960 crimes in Australia]]
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[[Category:1960s in Queensland]]
[[Category:1960s in Queensland]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed L-188 Electra]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed L-188 Electra]]
[[Category:Hijackings in the 1960s]]

Latest revision as of 19:59, 4 April 2024

TAA Flight 408
A Trans Australia Airlines Electra, similar to the aircraft involved
Hijacking
Date19 July 1960
SummaryAttempted hijacking
SiteBrisbane, Australia
27°28′08.14″S 153°01′24.55″E / 27.4689278°S 153.0234861°E / -27.4689278; 153.0234861
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLockheed Electra
OperatorTrans Australia Airlines
RegistrationVH-TLB
Occupants49
Passengers43
Crew6
Fatalities0
Injuries0
Survivors49

The Trans-Australian Airlines hijacking was Australia's first aircraft hijacking. It occurred on 19 July 1960 over Brisbane in a Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) Lockheed Electra.

43 passengers and six crew were on board Flight 408, the last Sydney to Brisbane flight for the day. The crew consisted of hostesses Fay Strugnell and Janeene Christie, captain John Benton, first officer T. R. (Tom) Bennett and flight engineer Fred McDonald. Another TAA pilot, captain D. R. (Dennis) Lawrence, was traveling in the cockpit as a passenger.

The hijacker, Alex Hildebrandt, wielded a sawn-off .22 calibre rifle, as well as a bomb: two sticks of gelignite, connected to a detonator that would apparently have fired, had Hildebrandt touched a bare wire to a torch battery. After demanding that the plane be redirected to Singapore,[1] Hildebrandt fired a shot, which went through the aircraft ceiling. Captain Bennett, who had been narrowly missed by the bullet, punched Hildebrandt and pulled the wires from his hand, disabling the bomb. Captain Lawrence assisted Bennett in subduing and disarming the hijacker. Bennett was awarded the George Medal for his actions and Lawrence was formally commended.[2][3][4][5]

Hildebrandt, who had been born in the Soviet Union in 1938, faced serious charges of attempted murder, having an explosive detonating device with the intention of destroying the aircraft and having explosives capable of causing injuries to persons on board. Hildebrandt was sentenced to three years in jail for attempted murder, 10 years for attempting to destroy the aircraft and two years for the explosives charge.[citation needed] He successfully appealed the sentence in the Queensland Criminal Court as he argued that the aircraft which was 35 minutes into the flight, was over New South Wales (NSW) when he armed the explosives in the aircraft toilet. He served a three-year sentence in Brisbane, for attempted murder and on discharge was arrested by detectives from NSW. He faced court again and was convicted on the charge of attempted destruction of an aircraft and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in NSW.[6][7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "'Crew fooled me and saved plane' - alleged statement". The Age. 31 August 1960. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Airliner saved by crew's courage - Praise by detective at court hearing". The Age. 21 July 1960. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  3. ^ The Sunday Mail (Brisbane), 23 July 1995, Pages 57&87
  4. ^ Contested Skies, John Gunn, ISBN 0-7022-3073-1, Page 171&172
  5. ^ "BENNETT, Thomas Ross". It's an Honour. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Seven Years over Bomb". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 May 1963. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Let's watch out for plane hijackers, too". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 1969. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trans_Australia_Airlines_Flight_408&oldid=1217263679"