Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320

Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320
	The aircraft involved in the hijacking, while operating for Northwest Airlines in 2009
Hijack
Date	March 17, 1970
Summary	Aircraft hijacking
Site	Boston-Logan International Airport, MA, USA
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
Operator	Eastern Air Lines
Registration	N8925E
Flight origin	Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark NJ
Destination	Logan International Airport, Boston, MA
Passengers	68
Crew	5
Fatalities	1
Injuries	2
Survivors	72

Last updated April 05, 2024

Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320, carrying passengers from Newark to Boston, was hijacked around 7:30 p.m. on March 17, 1970, by John J. Divivo who was armed with a .38 caliber revolver.^[1] Captain Robert Wilbur Jr., 35, a former United States Air Force pilot who had been promoted to captain six months prior was confronted by Divio, who ordered him to fly east and alert him when the plane was going to run out of fuel. But something startled the suicidal hijacker, who shot Wilbur in the arms. Despite his wounds, he flew his aircraft safely to a landing while talking to air traffic control, telling them his copilot was shot and needed emergency services.

Wilbur: We're on 3100 and you better get the police at the airport. The copilot is shot. Get us in a hurry BOS.
Boston ATC: 1320, I gotcha, continue right inbound to the airport. You're 13 miles east, indent on code 04.
Wilbur: Ok, get-get an ambulance to the airport also. My copilot is discombobulated. He can't talk or anything. He's passed out. We've been shot. ^[2]

His copilot, James Hartley, 30, was shot and collapsed. Despite being mortally wounded, Hartley was able to force the gun from Divivo's hand and shoot the would-be hijacker three times before lapsing into unconsciousness, and eventual death. Despite his injuries, Divivo arose and began clawing at Captain Wilbur, attempting to force a crash. Wilbur hit Divivo over the head with the gun he had retrieved from the center console.^[3] The pilot was able to land the plane safely at Logan International Airport, and the hijacker was arrested.^[4] On October 31, 1970, Divivo hanged himself in Charles Street Jail while awaiting trial.^[5]^[6]

The incident was the first aircraft hijacking in the United States to end with a fatality.^[7]

Related Research Articles

Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. Dating from the earliest of hijackings, most cases involve the pilot being forced to fly according to the hijacker's demands. There have also been incidents where the hijackers have overpowered the flight crew, made unauthorized entry into the cockpit and flown them into buildings – most notably in the September 11 attacks – and in several cases, planes have been hijacked by the official pilot or co-pilot; e.g., Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702.

Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The terrorists murdered three passengers and their intention was either to detonate the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), a counter-terror unit of the French National Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers.

Corpus Christi International Airport is 6 miles west of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. It opened in 1960, replacing Cliff Maus airport at 27.767°N 97.44°W, where the Lozano Golf Center is now located.

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 was a scheduled flight along the West Coast of the United States, from Los Angeles, California, to San Francisco. On December 7, 1987, the British Aerospace 146-200A, registration N350PS, crashed in San Luis Obispo County near Cayucos, after being hijacked by a passenger.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1960.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1970.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1972.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1971.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1977.

Sichuan Airlines is the largest airline in Western China, headquartered in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 was a Fairchild F27A Friendship airliner that crashed on May 7, 1964, near Danville, California, a suburb east of Oakland. The Thursday morning crash was most likely the first instance in the United States of an airliner's pilots being shot by a passenger as part of a murder–suicide. Francisco Paula Gonzales, 27, shot both pilots before turning the gun on himself, causing the plane to crash, killing all 44 aboard.

Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was a Singapore Airlines flight that was hijacked en route by four Pakistani terrorists on 26 March 1991.

Japan Air Lines Flight 446 was a Japan Air Lines flight from Sheremetyevo International Airport of Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union to Tokyo International Airport in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.

Suicide by pilot is an aviation event in which a pilot deliberately crashes or attempts to crash an aircraft as a suicide act, with or without the intention of causing harm to passengers on board or people on the ground. If others are killed, it may be considered a type of murder–suicide. It is suspected to have been a possible cause in several commercial flight crashes and has been confirmed as the cause in other instances. Determining the motives of pilots can be challenging for crash investigators, as pilots may intentionally disable recording devices or engage in other actions to impede future investigations. Consequently, definitively proving pilot suicide can be difficult.

References

↑ Hijacking description at the Aviation Safety Network
↑ "'You don't understand, Captain. He has a gun': The hijacking of Flight 1320". BostonGlobe.com. March 20, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
↑ Tristani, Captain, Eastern Air Lines (ret), J.P. (March 30, 2009). "One heck of an in-air gunfight on a civilian jet". Boston.com . Retrieved 2009-03-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Walker, Adrian (March 20, 2009). "Friends in high places". Boston.com . Retrieved 2009-03-30.
↑ "Eastern Airlines Hijacking, 1970". CelebrateBoston.com.
↑ "Man Accused in Sky Murder Is Found Hanged in Boston". Corpus Christi Caller-Times . Corpus Christi, Texas. AP. November 1, 1970. p. 15. Retrieved March 21, 2020– via newspapers.com.
↑ Swidey

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1970s
1970	Cornfield Bomber Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 Trans International Airlines Flight 863 Wichita State University football team plane crash Southern Airways Flight 932 Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26
1971	B-52C Lake Michigan crash Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash Hughes Airwest Flight 706 Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 Pan Am Flight 845 Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (see D. B. Cooper)
1972	Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 American Airlines Flight 96 Prinair Flight 191 Lake Winnebago mid-air collision Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 Delta Air Lines Flight 841 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident Southern Airways Flight 49 United Air Lines Flight 553 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash
1973	DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crash Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 Delta Air Lines Flight 723 TWA Flight 742 World Airways Flight 802 Texas International Airlines Flight 655 Pan Am Flight 160 National Airlines Flight 27 Iberia Flight 933
1974	Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 Pan Am Flight 806 Delta Air Lines Flight 523 Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 TWA Flight 514 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231
1975	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 Overseas National Airways Flight 032
1976	Alaska Airlines Flight 60 American Airlines Flight 625 Air Manila Flight 702 TWA Flight 355
1977	Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 Southern Airways Flight 242 Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 Encino helicopter crash Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash Air Indiana Flight 216 United Airlines Flight 2860 Vieques Air Link crash
1978	Continental Airlines Flight 603 United Airlines Flight 696 National Airlines Flight 193 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 Air Caribbean Flight 309 TWA Flight 541 United Airlines Flight 173
1979	TWA Flight 841 American Airlines Flight 191 Downeast Airlines Flight 46 Air New England Flight 248 American Airlines Flight 293 American Airlines Flight 444
This list is incomplete. ALM Flight 980 ditched in waters near St. Croix. Flying Tiger Line Flight 45 occurred in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands

Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320

Contents

See also

Related Research Articles

References

Further reading