Sky Wars

Defeating a hijacking attempt

The 19 American members of the tour group aboard Flight 2505 were waiting as patiently as they could for the droning flight to end. Their airliner, carrying 72 passengers in all, was a Soviet-made turboprop Ilyushin-18, vintage 1960, a far cry in comfort and speed from the kind of aircraft the Americans were used to. The plane was approaching Shanghai last week when a flight that had been dull suddenly became unforgettable.

Out of their seats rose five Chinese passengers, armed with knives and explosives. They overcame the crew and, after a brief, savage struggle in the forward cabin, ordered the pilot to fly to Taiwan, some 400 miles distant. It was the first publicly acknowledged skyjacking in the 33-year history of the People's Republic.

With everything seemingly under control, the hijackers planted sticks of explosives in the toilet compartment, then benignly granted the request of the steward that he be allowed to take the copilot back to the second cabin and treat his minor wounds. That was a mistake. As the pilot, unknown to the rebels, began to circle over Shanghai, the copilot and steward started to plot in whispers with nearby Chinese passengers. The plane continued to circle for 2 1/2 hr., until it was so low on fuel that the air conditioning went off and the pilot cut two of the engines.

As the plane began to dive toward the ground, several passengers and members of the crew charged the rebels, swinging soda and beer bottles, mops, umbrellas and even pieces of molding ripped off the cabin walls. In desperation, the hijackers touched off the explosives in the lavatory, blowing a hole about 4 ft. wide in the side of the aircraft. The undaunted posse of passengers and crew members began battering the hijackers while the pilot struggled to gain control of the plummeting aircraft. "There was a lot of blood and screaming," W.J. Gunther of Flemington, N.J., remembered later. "It was like the French Revolution, and everyone was trying to get in on it."

Somehow the pilot managed to pull up the nose of the Ilyushin, but the plane still hit the runway so hard that its tires blew out. Then, one by one, the bleeding hijackers were dragged feet first down the aisle and out of the plane. Three of them were unconscious, and the American passengers were convinced that at least two were dead, although Chinese authorities later insisted that all had survived.

After disembarking, the assortment of Americans brought together by the tour hugged and kissed each other and sang the doxology in praise of God. "We were all prepared to crash," says Ronald D. Roth, a guidance counselor at North Hunterdon Regional High School in Annandale, N.J., who was leading the group. "This is one adventure we didn't need."

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