Eastern Air Lines Flight 1320
| Eastern Air Lines Flight 1320 | |
|---|---|
 The sister machine N8924E |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Attempted takeout suicide |
| place | Airspace over New England , United States
|
| date | March 17, 1970 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 72 |
| Injured | 2 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
|
| operator |
Eastern Air Lines
|
| Mark |
N8925E
|
| Departure airport |
Newark International Airport , New Jersey , United States
|
| Destination airport |
Logan International Airport , Boston , Massachusetts , United States
|
| Passengers | 68 |
| crew | 5 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On March 17, 1970 took place in the Air Lines flight Eastern-1320 : (flight number EA1320 a serious incident with a) 9-31 DC McDonnell Douglas of Eastern Airlines as a kidnapper on the flight from Newark International Airport to Logan International Airport tried to kill the crew to cause the plane to crash. The first officer did not survive the attack, and the pilot was able to land the machine safely despite his serious injuries.
plane
The machine was a Douglas DC-9-31, which was finally assembled at the McDonnell Douglas plant in Long Beach , California and which made its maiden flight on April 6, 1967. On May 28, 1967, the DC-9 was delivered to Eastern Air Lines. The machine was registered with the aircraft registration N8925E and received the fleet number 925 . The aircraft had the factory number 45840, it was the 117th Douglas DC-9 from ongoing production. The twin- engined narrow -body aircraft was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B engines.
Crew and passengers
The flight captain was 31-year-old Robert Wilbur Jr., a former US Air Force fighter pilot who at the time lived in Fair Lawn , New Jersey . Wilbur Jr. was promoted to captain just six months before the incident. He had 7814 hours of flight experience, 125 of which he had completed in the cockpit of the Douglas DC-9. The first officer on the flight was James E. Hartley, 30, from Fort Lee , New Jersey, and Christine Peterson was the purser. Two flight attendants and 68 passengers had started the flight.
Flight plan
The machine was to be used on a domestic scheduled flight from Newark International Airport in New Jersey to Logan International Airport in Boston , Massachusetts . It was a regional flight operated by Eastern Air Lines Shuttle , a brand of Eastern Airlines .
Events on board
The plane took off on schedule in Newark. Shortly after the start, the purser Christine Peterson began to collect the fare from the passengers, as it was common at the time that tickets on regional flights were paid for in cash on flights. About 10 to 15 minutes after take-off, the purser spoke to the approximately 25-year-old passenger John Divivo, whereupon he replied that he did not have enough money with him to pay the flight price of 15.75 US dollars . Divivo then drew a handgun and said that he wanted to speak to the captain. Peterson escorted Divivo to the cockpit and shortly after went back into the passenger cabin.
After about 20 more minutes, according to a passenger, four shots could be heard from the cockpit. As the investigation later revealed, Divivo had shot Hartley at this point and then seriously injured Captain Wilbur with two shots in both arms. Despite his serious gunshot wound, Hartley managed to overwhelm the attacker, in the process of which another shot went off that hit Divivo in the chest.
The injured captain managed to land the plane safely at Boston Airport, although he also landed the DC-9 at high speed. Apart from the three people in the cockpit, nobody was injured on board the machine. The plane was undamaged in the incident.
Captain Wilbur and the attacker John Divivo were taken to hospital after landing in Boston and operated on. First Officer Hartley died from his gunshot wounds. DiVivo hanged himself in custody on October 31, 1970.
Perpetrator
Police said John Divivo, aged around 25, lived with his mother, teenage sister and two brothers in West New York , New Jersey, and worked in the Palisades Amusement Park in Bergen County , New Jersey.
See also
swell
- Description of the incident in the Aviation Safety Network
- Wounded pilot lands jetliner with slain copilot besides him , Ludington Daily News 80 (113) of March 18, 1970.
- Operating history of the machine on planespotters.net
- March 17th in Aviation History: Hijacker Kills Eastern Airlines Pilot in Boston Hijacking Attempt , NYC Aviation
- NTSB Identification: NYC70IN101 , National Transportation Safety Board
Individual evidence
- ^ Eastern Airlines Hijacking, 1970 .
- ↑ Man Accused in Sky Murder Is Found Hanged in Boston . In: Corpus Christi Caller-Times , November 1, 1970, p. 15. Retrieved March 21, 2020.