Evening star., 1961-08-03

a year ago ne advocated DlOCk-
aiding Cuba against military
| HIJACKING
Continued From First Page
ident, flew in from Denver and
went into closed-door confer
ences with Francis Crosby. spe-
cial agent in charge of the FBI
office at Ell Paso.
4 Hours for Refueling
The FBI said a DC-7B had
been offered the hijackers and
would be flown into Ell Paso
from Houston. Passengers said
the quartet had demanded an
other plane in exchange for
the jet.
The airline's ground crew
stalled for time and efforts
were made to negotiate with
the gunner.
The ground crews took four
hours to refuel the plane. They
took up more time with a check
of the hydraulic system and
other mechanical parts.
About 80 armed officers
border patrolmen, FBI and
Secret Service agents, State
police and sheriff's officers
had rushed to the airport and
stood by.
After the plane had been on
the ground for several hours
the hijackers radioed that un-
less they be allowed to take of
they would shoot the crew
members.
The plane then was given
permission to take off.
Bullets Sprayed
The planes engines were
started and as the big silver
plane gliStening in the hot sun
started down the runway, q
border patrol car darted from
the side of the runway, raced
along the left side of the plane
spraying bullets from a ma
chine gun.
Ten tires were punctured
There were bullet holes visible
in the two left engines and the
left side of the fuselage.
Officers later said that the
airline's president, Mr.. Six, had
given orders that the plane
was not to take off, and that
was why they opened fire.
Police cars. service trucks,
ambulances and baggage trucks
sped to the plane and formed
a ring around it.
Negotiations Resumed
Mechanics scrambled around
the planes fuSelage and wings,
inspecting damage, but drew
no attention from the occu-
pants of the plane.
Officers resumed their nego-
tiations via radio with the gun
men.
With the Texas desert heat
rising and the planes air con-
ditioner off, one witness to the
wild scene predicted "they
won't last long in there" The
thermometer has been touch
ing near 100 degrees daily.
Jerry McCauley, 18, a pas
senger from Sacramento, Calf.
gave this account:
These two got aboard at Los
Angeles. origin of the flight
or at Phoenix, Ariz. About 10
minutes out of Ell Paso, the
older one, about As or so, went
into the cockpit and pointed q
.45-caliber pistol at the pilot
head, although we didn't know
1t at the time.
Everybody on the plane
seemed to think they were
Cubans but the boy had blonc
hair and looked like an ordi.
nary North American high
schooler with a butch haircut,
he said.
The older man appeared tt
be the father of the boy. The
boy callde him Pop" sale
young McCauley, one of the 2:
Air Force recruits en- route tc
Lakeland Air Force Base.
Continental identified the
crew members as Capt. B. D
Richards, 1St officer r. c
Wagner, I'd officer Norm Sim.
ons, director of passenger serv.
ice Lou Finch and stewardresses
Tony Besset and Lois Carnagy
all Of Los Angeles.
The TOT jet was Continental
flight 81 from Los Angeles tc
Houston, via Phoenix and E,
Paso.
The plane left Phoenix al
los am. Mountain standard
time) and landed at Ell Past
at 2:18 am.
Miss Mary Ellis of San An
tonic, a passenger, said: Il was
pretty scared. I thought
might end up in Havana and
I didn't want to CO."
She said she did not know OF
the hijacking until the airline1
touched ground.
Third Hijacking
The plane was the third
American transport plane hi
lacked since last May.
On July "a a gunman placed
a pistol at the head of an East
ern Air Lines pilot and made
him fly his prophet electra to
Cuba. The plane had taken
off from Miami for Dallas. The
plane, worth $31a million, is
still being held in Cuba.
In another incident, a man
produced a gun while a Ma
tional AirlineS plane was over
the Florida Keys on May l and
fnppoI thn ,,i1AE - FL, - II