It’s one of the more bizarre stories you may not know: Two men hijacked a Colombian plane in an episode that lasted three days and covered multiple countries throughout Latin America.
The men reportedly said they were with the National Liberation Army, a left-wing group in Colombia, and sought the release of 140 political prisoners. The incident, though, has more “Die Hard” qualities to it, because that may have been a front for a more basic need: money.
It’s a confusing tale that has more twists than a good Hollywood blockbuster. Now, the story is being told in a new Netflix series, “The Hijacking of Flight 601.”
So, what exactly happened?
A domestic SAM airlines flight in Colombia on May 30, 1973, was rocked when two men got onboard and pulled out guns, announcing they were hijacking the plane. More than 80 passengers were onboard.
The hijackers had initially demanded the release of political prisoners and a ransom of $200,000, according to an Associated Press story dated May 31, 1973. However, they reportedly increased the demand to $400,000 before lowering it to $170,000. The hijackers also wanted the plane to reroute to Cuba, but the Colombian government rejected the demand.
The airline offered $35,000 but was turned down, airport sources told the AP at the time.
The hijackers take action
The plane’s pilot, Jorge Lucena, had radioed a message that the hijackers also sought a new crew, medicine, special oil and charts of Central and South America, but then changed their minds about the crew, according to The Associated Press.
Interestingly, the AP also said Lucena had fended off a hijacking attempt two years earlier.
“They are crazy,” said airline president Ricardo Hoyos. “They threatened to kill the stewardess.”
An AP story from June 2, 1973, said the hijacked plane landed in Resistencia, Argentina, but only remained on the ground for a few minutes, while noting nine passengers and crew members disembarked. The article also stated the plane was carrying 89 people when it originally took off “but the hijackers allowed most of the passengers to leave during stops in Aruba, Ecuador, Lima and Mendoza (Argentina),” while 11 others escaped in Aruba.
A new crew comes in
The AP reported the plane’s original crew had been replaced after it stopped in Aruba for a third time. It also said that on the third day of the hijacking the airline gave the men $50,000. The AP said before flying into Argentina, the plane had stopped in Medellin, Colombia; three times in Aruba; Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Lima, Peru, with 14 men believed to be the final passengers on the hijacked plane getting off there.
Another Associated Press story dated June 2 said the plane landed at an airport in Buenos Aires, after making brief stops in Asuncion, Paraguay, and the Argentine cities of Resistencia and Mendoza, while noting most of the passengers had gotten off at previous stops.
The hijackers make a daring getaway
On June 3, UPI reported the hijackers took the $50,000 they had received and escaped when jumping off the plane while it sat on a runway in Resistencia. An AP article citing a police official indicated, however, that one of the men may have gotten off in Asuncion. Regardless, that put an end to a hijacking that spanned at least 12,000 miles.
The AP article said the hijackers never slept or took off their masks during the three-day ordeal. By the time the hijacking had ended, only three flight attendants, new pilot Hugo Molina, a copilot and an engineer remained onboard.
According to the AP, Molina replaced the plane’s original pilot, Lucena, during one of the stops in Aruba where the hijackers received the $50,000 from the airline. The hijackers allegedly sought the release of 140 prisoners in Colombia and for the flight to go to Cuba, but Lucena suggested that may have been a cover.
“I offered them a flight to Havana, but they immediately said no,” he was quoted as saying by the AP.
A week later, the AP reported that police in Paraguay had arrested one of the suspects, who named his accomplice to authorities. Both suspects were Paraguayan soccer players, according to an article on Netflix's Tudum website.
The AP cited authorities in reporting that the suspects apparently hijacked the plane for reasons involving money.