1952 Hijacking
On December 30, 1952, after takeoff from Laoag International Airport, an armed man entered the cockpit. Brandishing a .45-caliber pistol, he demanded the flight be diverted to Xiamen, China. The captain executed a steep dive, but the hijacker remained standing and shot the captain fatally. A flight attendant knocked on the cockpit door and was shot twice through the door, also dying. The co-pilot then changed course toward China. Two Chinese Nationalist T-6 Harvard aircraft intercepted the DC-3 and fired machine guns. The pilot evaded until Nationalist planes forced the flight to land at Quemoy, where the hijacker was arrested.
1968 Hijacking
On November 6, 1968, four men hijacked Philippine Airlines Flight 158A, a Fokker F27, just before its descent to Manila. After taking over the aircraft, the hijackers proceeded through the cabin, demanding money and valuables from passengers. A federal policeman drew his firearm and opened fire, beginning a firefight. One bullet went through a window, and other bullets hit the cabin wall. One passenger was shot in the crossfire and died. The aircraft landed safely at Manila and taxied to a remote area of the airport. The hijackers took the pilot and two other crew members hostage before releasing them at the airport fence, after which the hijackers got away in a car.
1971 Hijacking
On March 30, 1971, six hijackers hijacked a Philippine Airlines BAC One-Eleven en route to Davao City and ordered the pilot to divert the plane to Guangzhou, China. En route, the pilot requested a refueling stop in Hong Kong where 20 passengers were freed. The plane proceeded to Guangzhou where the hijackers disembarked and requested asylum. The rest of the passengers were freed by Chinese authorities, and the aircraft returned to Manila the following day.
1973 Hijacking
On October 11, 1973, three men opposed to the Marcos regime hijacked a Philippine Airlines BAC One-Eleven and demanded to be flown to Hong Kong. A refueling stop was made at Manila, where all 48 passengers were released in exchange for Philippine Air Lines president Benigno Toda Jr. The aircraft continued to Hong Kong where the hijackers surrendered.
1975 Hijackings
On February 25, 1975, two men, armed with a homemade gun, two hand grenades, and an Armalite rifle, hijacked a Philippine Airlines Douglas DC-3A (RP-C941) and ordered the pilot to fly to Cebu City, where 12 passengers were released. The aircraft continued to Manila, where the remaining 13 passengers and three crew were released after three hours of negotiations. One hijacker claimed he was convicted on false evidence and that the trial judge was biased. President Marcos intervened with an offer of "conditional pardon," and both hijackers surrendered.
On October 7, 1975, one hijacker on a Philippine Airlines BAC One-Eleven bound from Davao to Manila demanded to be taken to Libya. He surrendered.
1976 Hijacking
On April 7, 1976, a BAC One-Eleven was hijacked by three men who demanded USD $300,000 and the release of numerous political prisoners. At Manila, the hijackers exchanged all the passengers for another set of hostages and USD $300,000 in cash. Over the next six days, the hijackers flew to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then to Bangkok, Thailand. At Bangkok, the airline supplied a Douglas DC-8. The hijackers, along with 12 PAL staff members, continued to Karachi, Pakistan, and finally to Benghazi, Libya. At Benghazi the hijackers…