Five hijackers who had boarded with three children took over the aircraft. It flew to Miami as originally scheduled, where the 86 passenger hostages were released. The aircraft was then flown to Boston, where they picked up a flight engineer who was qualified to fly the plane overseas. Working with FBI agents on-site, Boston Delta airport maintenance foreman Ronald S. Fudge was chosen to refuel the plane and deliver the flight engineer to the plane. He also delivered a bag containing the $1 million ransom and other bags containing provisions requested by the hijackers, including cigarettes, apples, and ham and cheese sandwiches. After refueling and taking on the engineer and provisions, the plane was dispatched to the runway and flew to Algeria. Algerian authorities seized the aircraft and ransom which were returned to the U.S. with the crew hostages, but the hijackers were released after a few days.[1]
Return of crew and aircraft
On the evening of Wednesday, August 2, 1972, at a hurried 10-minute news conference after the DC-8's completion of the 11,500 miles (18,500 km) trip in Atlanta, the captain said he realized the aircraft was being hijacked when he left the cockpit to go to the lavatory and noticed a man aiming a gun at a stewardess. One of the hijackers held a stewardess, Jamye Mays of Pell City, Alabama, at gunpoint throughout the incident. The stewardess had been with the airline less than two weeks. "They did it as a threat when they thought their instructions were not going to be carried out", the captain said.[2]
The crew had an overnight stay in Barcelona, Spain, after leaving Algiers. It was the first hijacking experience for each of them. In addition to the ransom, a Delta spokesman said the trip cost $21,600 for fuel and salaries for the crew. Delta identified the crew members as Captain William Harold May, First Officer D.L. Henderson, and R.R. Kubal, and stewardesses Shirley Ann Morgan, Sherril Elsie Ross, Jamye Mays, and Leanne Marie Arnfield.[3][4][5]
Apprehension of hijackers
Four of the five hijackers were captured in Paris on May 26, 1976, and tried by the French courts. The remaining hijacker, George Wright, who had dressed as a priest during the hijacking, was arrested on September 26, 2011, in Sintra, Portugal.[6] Wright was an accomplice in a 1962 armed robbery and homicide who had escaped from a prison in New Jersey before joining in the hijacking.[7]
The four hijackers who had been living in France since 1973—George Brown, Joyce Brown, Melvin McNair, and Jean McNair—were arrested by French police in 1976 after the US pressured French officials, since France does not extradite political exiles. The two men served three years in French prisons; and the women received suspended sentences because they had children. George Brown and Melvin McNair were released in 1981, and all four remained to live and work in France with their families. George Wright was the lone Panther who fled to Portugal from France and has lived in Portugal with his family since the early 1980s. Portugal has denied US authorities his extradition because Wright is a Portuguese citizen and protected by its constitution.
In 2010, a documentary titled Nobody Knows My Name[8] was made about the hijacking. According to Mikhael Ganouna, the producer of the film, George Brown was living in Paris but was not worried about being extradited because he had already served his sentence.[9]
In 2012, a documentary titled Melvin & Jean: An American Story[10] was made by director Maia Wechsler.[11] Melvin McNair and his wife Jean were working at an orphanage in the French town of Caen, where reportedly they had turned their lives around completely.[12] McNair was known for coaching American baseball, teaching youth the art and strategy of the sport. Jean McNair died on October 24, 2014.[13]
References
^Tina Susman (September 27, 2011). "Fugitive in hijacking case caught after 40-year hunt". Los Angeles Times.
^"Black Militant Hijackers Tell Jet's Crew Of Plan To Join African Activists". The Robesonian. Aug 3, 1972.
^"Hijackers' Criticism Of America Described". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Aug 3, 1972.
^"Hijackers Fled "Decadent America"". Indiana Evening Gazette. Aug 3, 1972.
^"Hijackers Order Jet to Algeria". The Palm Beach Post. Aug 1, 1972.
^"On the run for 41 years, hijacker traced to Portugal". CNN. 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
^Portugal nabs N.J. killer/hijacker on the run since 1970, Michael Winter, USA Today, September 27, 2011
delta, lines, flight, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, availab. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Delta Air Lines Flight 841 was an aircraft hijacking that took place beginning on July 31 1972 on a flight originally from Detroit to Miami Delta Air Lines Flight 841N817E the DC 8 involved in the hijacking at Orlando International Airport in 1966 HijackingDateJuly 31 August 2 1972SummaryHijackingSiteUnited States AlgeriaAircraftAircraft typeDouglas DC 8 51OperatorDelta Air LinesRegistrationN817EFlight originDetroit Metropolitan Airport Michigan1st stopoverLogan International Airport Massachusetts2nd stopoverHouari Boumediene Airport Algiers AlgeriaDestinationMiami International Airport FloridaOccupants101Passengers94Crew7Fatalities0Injuries0Survivors101 Contents 1 Hijacking 2 Return of crew and aircraft 3 Apprehension of hijackers 4 References 5 External links 6 See alsoHijacking EditThere were 7 crew and 94 passengers on board the Douglas DC 8 for the flight from Detroit to Miami Members of the Black Liberation Army took over the aircraft in flight using weapons smuggled on board including a handgun hidden inside a Bible with its pages cut out to form a cavity None of the hostages were killed during the hijacking Five hijackers who had boarded with three children took over the aircraft It flew to Miami as originally scheduled where the 86 passenger hostages were released The aircraft was then flown to Boston where they picked up a flight engineer who was qualified to fly the plane overseas Working with FBI agents on site Boston Delta airport maintenance foreman Ronald S Fudge was chosen to refuel the plane and deliver the flight engineer to the plane He also delivered a bag containing the 1 million ransom and other bags containing provisions requested by the hijackers including cigarettes apples and ham and cheese sandwiches After refueling and taking on the engineer and provisions the plane was dispatched to the runway and flew to Algeria Algerian authorities seized the aircraft and ransom which were returned to the U S with the crew hostages but the hijackers were released after a few days 1 Return of crew and aircraft EditOn the evening of Wednesday August 2 1972 at a hurried 10 minute news conference after the DC 8 s completion of the 11 500 miles 18 500 km trip in Atlanta the captain said he realized the aircraft was being hijacked when he left the cockpit to go to the lavatory and noticed a man aiming a gun at a stewardess One of the hijackers held a stewardess Jamye Mays of Pell City Alabama at gunpoint throughout the incident The stewardess had been with the airline less than two weeks They did it as a threat when they thought their instructions were not going to be carried out the captain said 2 The crew had an overnight stay in Barcelona Spain after leaving Algiers It was the first hijacking experience for each of them In addition to the ransom a Delta spokesman said the trip cost 21 600 for fuel and salaries for the crew Delta identified the crew members as Captain William Harold May First Officer D L Henderson and R R Kubal and stewardesses Shirley Ann Morgan Sherril Elsie Ross Jamye Mays and Leanne Marie Arnfield 3 4 5 Apprehension of hijackers EditFour of the five hijackers were captured in Paris on May 26 1976 and tried by the French courts The remaining hijacker George Wright who had dressed as a priest during the hijacking was arrested on September 26 2011 in Sintra Portugal 6 Wright was an accomplice in a 1962 armed robbery and homicide who had escaped from a prison in New Jersey before joining in the hijacking 7 The four hijackers who had been living in France since 1973 George Brown Joyce Brown Melvin McNair and Jean McNair were arrested by French police in 1976 after the US pressured French officials since France does not extradite political exiles The two men served three years in French prisons and the women received suspended sentences because they had children George Brown and Melvin McNair were released in 1981 and all four remained to live and work in France with their families George Wright was the lone Panther who fled to Portugal from France and has lived in Portugal with his family since the early 1980s Portugal has denied US authorities his extradition because Wright is a Portuguese citizen and protected by its constitution In 2010 a documentary titled Nobody Knows My Name 8 was made about the hijacking According to Mikhael Ganouna the producer of the film George Brown was living in Paris but was not worried about being extradited because he had already served his sentence 9 In 2012 a documentary titled Melvin amp Jean An American Story 10 was made by director Maia Wechsler 11 Melvin McNair and his wife Jean were working at an orphanage in the French town of Caen where reportedly they had turned their lives around completely 12 McNair was known for coaching American baseball teaching youth the art and strategy of the sport Jean McNair died on October 24 2014 13 References Edit Tina Susman September 27 2011 Fugitive in hijacking case caught after 40 year hunt Los Angeles Times Black Militant Hijackers Tell Jet s Crew Of Plan To Join African Activists The Robesonian Aug 3 1972 Hijackers Criticism Of America Described Lubbock Avalanche Journal Aug 3 1972 Hijackers Fled Decadent America Indiana Evening Gazette Aug 3 1972 Hijackers Order Jet to Algeria The Palm Beach Post Aug 1 1972 On the run for 41 years hijacker traced to Portugal CNN 2011 09 26 Retrieved 2011 09 26 Portugal nabs N J killer hijacker on the run since 1970 Michael Winter USA Today September 27 2011 https www imdb com title tt1693798 IMDB page user generated source US officials knew fugitive in Africa Associated Press October 1 2011 http melvinandjean com https www imdb com name nm1372421 IMDB bio user generated source Retired Triad pilot recalls 1972 hijacking of airliner Associated Press September 29 2011 Deces de l ex Black Panther Jean Mc Nair s est eteinte a Caen Ouest France in French External links Edit Algeria Panthers on Ice Time September 4 1972 Aviation Safety net entrySee also EditAircraft hijacking List of aircraft hijackings George Wright Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Delta Air Lines Flight 841 amp oldid 1112419958, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
