Fokker F-27 Friendship of Ansett Airlines in 1970
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| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 15 November 1972 |
| Summary | Hijacking |
| Site | Alice Springs Airport, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia 23°48′08.43″S 133°54′02.92″E / 23.8023417°S 133.9008111°E / -23.8023417; 133.9008111 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Fokker Friendship |
| Operator | Ansett Australia |
| Registration | VH-FNI |
| Flight origin | Adelaide Airport, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Destination | Alice Springs Airport, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Occupants | 32 |
| Passengers | 28 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 31 |
Ansett Australia Flight 232, on Wednesday, 15 November 1972, was a flight from Adelaide, South Australia aboard a Fokker Friendship bound for Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It was Australia's second aircraft hijacking (after the first in 1960), and resulted in the perpetrator's death by suicide.
A male passenger, subsequently identified as Miloslav Hrabinec, a Czech migrant, had boarded the flight in Adelaide with a concealed sawn-off .22 ArmaLite rifle and a sheath knife strapped to his leg. About a half-hour before the scheduled landing time, as the flight was making its descent into Alice Springs Airport, he emerged from the lavatory, produced the gun, and said to a flight attendant named Gai Rennie "This is a hijack".
Gai walked through the cabin followed by the hijacker. She then explained to flight attendant Kaye Goreham that the man behind her had a gun. All three then moved to the front of the aircraft. Gai then advised Captain Young & first Officer Walter Gowans that there was a man wanting to talk & he had a gun & said it was a hijack. However, Captain said he was in landing mode & would talk to him on the ground. Captain asked Gai 'What does he want'. Gai replied that she didn't know. Hrabinec was informed by the crew that he needed to be seated for landing and he complied.
After the plane landed police commenced negotiations with the hijacker. According to Goreham's account, Hrabinec stated his motive was not financial (he asked for no money) but that he wanted to commit suicide in a spectacular way by parachuting into a remote location and surviving for as long as he could before killing himself. To this end, he demanded a light aircraft, a parachute, and a jumpsuit.[1]
A civilian pilot and flying instructor, the local Aero Club manager Ossie Watts, volunteered himself and his Cessna aircraft. An undercover police constable Paul Sandeman, posing as Watts' navigator, was also on board the Cessna. According to Kaye Goreham, Hrabinec became suspicious upon seeing Sandeman and requested Goreham search Sandeman for weapons. Goreham did so but did not inform the hijacker when she felt a small firearm Sandeman had hidden. Goreham states that the policeman "went for his gun" and the hijacker shot Sandeman in the hand and stomach. Sandeman was also shot in the right shoulder and left arm. The hijacker ran off and Watts, who had been shown how to use a gun minutes earlier, began shooting. Police marksmen also opened fire and Hrabinec was wounded. Hrabinec then retreated to a ditch where he fatally shot himself.[1][2]
Constable Sandeman was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery.[1][3][4]
Hrabinec was not identified as the hijacker until May 1973.[5]
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Aviation accidents and incidents in 1972 (1972)
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Jan 7 Jan 21 Jan 26 Feb 22 Mar 3 Mar 14 Mar 19 Apr 18 East African Airways Flight 720 May 5 May 8 May 18 May 30 Jun 12 Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun 18 British European Airways Flight 548 Jun 24 Jun 29 Lake Winnebago mid-air collision Jul 2 Jul 5 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 Jul 31 Aug 14 Aug 16 Aug 31 Sep 15 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130 Sep 24 Sep 24 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident Oct 1 Oct 13 Oct 13 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Oct 27 Oct 29 Nov 10 Nov 15 Nov 28 Dec 3 Dec 8 Dec 8 Dec 8 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631 Dec 20 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision Dec 23 Dec 29 Dec 31 | |
