The 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 caught the attention of author Brendan Koerner, who was a child at the time. Koerner's book "The Skies Belong to Us," documents an epidemic of hijackings in 1970s. Click through this gallery for photos from the era.
When hijackers ruled the skies —
The 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 caught the attention of author Brendan Koerner, who was a child at the time. Koerner's book "The Skies Belong to Us," documents an epidemic of hijackings in 1970s. Click through this gallery for photos from the era.
JOEL ROBINE/AFP/Getty Images
This FBI sketch shows one of America's most famous skyjackers, a man called "D.B. Cooper" who bailed out of a Boeing 727 in 1971 and vanished with $200,000 in ransom. He has never been caught.
When hijackers ruled the skies —
This FBI sketch shows one of America's most famous skyjackers, a man called "D.B. Cooper" who bailed out of a Boeing 727 in 1971 and vanished with $200,000 in ransom. He has never been caught.
FBI/REUTERS/LANDOV
In 1971, a hijacker, tentatively identified as Richard Oberfell of Passaic, New .Jersey, forced a Chicago-bound plane to land at New York's LaGuardia Airport. He then took two hostages in a maintenance truck on a nine-mile ride to JFK international airport. There, FBI agents climbed a protective wall as they hunted down the hijacker, who demanded a plane to take him to Italy. FBI agent Kenneth Lovin, dressed in a striped shirt, fired fatal shots that killed the hijacker.
When hijackers ruled the skies —
In 1971, a hijacker, tentatively identified as Richard Oberfell of Passaic, New .Jersey, forced a Chicago-bound plane to land at New York's LaGuardia Airport. He then took two hostages in a maintenance truck on a nine-mile ride to JFK international airport. There, FBI agents climbed a protective wall as they hunted down the hijacker, who demanded a plane to take him to Italy. FBI agent Kenneth Lovin, dressed in a striped shirt, fired fatal shots that killed the hijacker.
AP
In this July 1972 photo, FBI agents in Miami, wearing only swim trunks, per a hijacker's instructions, prepare to deliver a case containing a $1 million ransom to a hijacked Delta DC8 jet.
When hijackers ruled the skies —
In this July 1972 photo, FBI agents in Miami, wearing only swim trunks, per a hijacker's instructions, prepare to deliver a case containing a $1 million ransom to a hijacked Delta DC8 jet.
James Kerlin/AP
Southern Airways co-pilot Billy Johnson of College City, Arkansas, was wounded in his right shoulder during a hijacking at Miami International Airport in November 1972.
When hijackers ruled the skies —
Southern Airways co-pilot Billy Johnson of College City, Arkansas, was wounded in his right shoulder during a hijacking at Miami International Airport in November 1972.
AP