![]() ![]() "He went to China," explained former Cathay pilot Charles Eather, "where rumour had it his life was snuffed out in a suitably contrived accident. The South China Morning Post reports that one millionaire's body had bullet wounds, and Wong, the only survivor, explained in his confession that the plane went down after the pilot was killed. He was arrested by police in Macau, but since it was a Portuguese territory, and Hong Kong a British colony, and the plane went down in Chinese waters, Wong was eventually released. The passengers and crew didn't go down without a fight. Wong was recruited by three men for his knowledge of a local place where they could force the plane down, rob the rich passengers, and then ransom them. The Miss Macao left Hong Kong with 27 passengers aboard, including four Chinese millionaires and 23-year-old rice farmer Wong Yu-man. The fledgling Cathay Pacific Airways ran regular seaplane flights for rich passengers and literal boatloads of gold between Macau and Hong Kong. The pilots landed the plane so badly injured that neither would ever be allowed to fly commercial planes again, the full flight crew were given medals for heroism by the Airline Pilot's Association, and Calloway was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. The pilot took the craft into steep dives and climbs, rolls and pitches, throwing Calloway off long enough for the flight crew to keep him down. The crew managed to subdue their would-be murderer, but as they were trying to land, Calloway got free again. They took the hammer from Calloway, who then retrieved a scuba speargun from his guitar case. Miraculously, the pilot and co-pilot survived having their heads smashed in, and the flight crew began to fight back. As the plane rose to cruising altitude, Calloway removed a hammer from his guitar case and attacked the flight crew. He booked himself a "jump seat" on a flight, free space on their planes that FedEx offers their employees, and on April 7, he boarded the plane with a guitar case. There were no casualties, said the Aviation Safety Network. About an hour after the passengers had left, airport police told him he couldn't have any more beer unless he gave up his pistol, which he did. He kept drinking and demanded the attendants bring him more beer. The flight landed in Oslo, almost on time, and the hijacker allowed the passengers to leave but kept the crew on the plane. He then placed himself in one of the toilets, keeping a constant watch on his hostages, two pilots and three flight attendants. The 24-year-old, slightly inebriated former convict boarded the plane, threatened the crew with a gun, demanded to speak with Norway's prime minister and justice minister about his treatment in prison, and kept drinking. For their part, according to the justice minister, "We never considered yielding to his pressure,” according to The New York Times. On a flight from Trondheim to Oslo, as the Aviation Safety Network dryly states, a man "apparently fed-up with society" took the plane by force. In June 1985, Norway experienced its first-ever airplane hijacking. ![]()
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