Pan Am Flight 281
| Hijack summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | November 24, 1968 |
| Summary | Aircraft hijacking |
| Site | USA and Cuba |
| Passengers | Unknown |
| Crew | Unknown |
| Survivors | All |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 707[1] |
| Operator | Pan Am |
| Flight origin | JFK International Airport, NY, USA |
| Stopover | Havana, Cuba |
| Destination | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
Pan Am Flight 281 was a regularly scheduled Pan American World Airways flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was hijacked on November 24, 1968, by 4 men from JFK International Airport, New York City to Havana, Cuba.[2][3] Fighter jets followed the plane to Cuba.[4]
Two of the hijackers were apprehended in the 1970s. Jose Rafael Rios Cruz was arrested in 1975; Miguel Castro was captured in 1976. Both pleaded guilty; Cruz was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Castro to 12.
A third hijacker, Luis Armando Peña Soltren, lived as a fugitive in Cuba. In October 2009, he voluntarily returned to the United States and surrendered to federal authorities. He pleaded guilty to the hijacking on March 18, 2010.[5] On January 4, 2011 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, without the possibility of parole.[6]
Alejandro Figueroa, a woman charged as a co-conspirator in the case, was acquitted in 1969.
References
- ↑ "15-Year Sentence for 1968 Hijacking". The New York Times. 2011. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
- ↑ "Suspect in 1968 hijacking at JFK is captured". CNN.com. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
- ↑ "Man arrested in '68 hijacking of flight from NY". The Associated Press. 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
- ↑ "With arrest, memories of hijacking ordeal flood back". The Associated Press. 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
- ↑ "Hijacker of Pan American Flight 281 Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court". FBI. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
- ↑ "US man given 15 years for 1968 Cuba hijack". BBC News. 2011-01-04.