Aviation
Commercial /
Brazil
An unlucky 707!
Aircraft was hijacked three times and directed to Cuba
Boeing 707
KC-137 da FAB
http://www.fab.mil.br/portal/capa/index.php?mostra=7527
Rafael Ramos
3/6/2021
Over the years, security at airports and flights has become increasingly strict, but this has not always been the case. It was easier to board dangerous objects, including weapons. With that, even kidnappings could happen much easier than today.
Between 1969 and 1972, at least 15 aircraft were hijacked. The most sought-after destination was Cuba, which provided aid and training to virtually any movement that was against regimes allied to the United States. It was no different in Brazil. These incidents took place three times in less than six months and the Boeing 707 with the prefix PP-VJX was affectionately dubbed the “Cuban Express” by the crew members themselves.
In the first case, the plane took off on November 4, 1969, from Rio de Janeiro to Santiago (Chile) and with a stopover in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
After taking off from the Argentine capital, flight RG863 was approached by 8 men and a woman who demanded that the plane be diverted to Havana. The hijackers on the Varig flight were members of the Brazilian group “Frente de Liberación Nacional”, and wanted to travel to Cuba to receive military training and on guerrilla techniques.
As there was not enough fuel to make the long flight to Cuba, the plane went to Santiago, where it was refueled and continued its route to Havana. During the refueling stop, only a pregnant woman and her husband were released.
Boeing 707
PP-JVX "expresso cubano"
imagem: reprodução
The flight ended on November 6, when the aircraft returned to Galeão airport, where it was surrounded by the police and all its occupants were questioned by the police.
On November 28, 1969, the same Boeing 707 was flying from Paris to Rio de Janeiro with a stop in London. In the very first minutes, a passenger of Algerian origin armed with a knife and pistol announced the hijacking and the demand that the plane be diverted to Cuba. Upon arriving in Cuba, the 81 passengers and 15 crew members were questioned by the police and taken to the Riviera hotel. The aircraft returned to Rio de Janeiro on November 30.
The last incident occurred on March 12, 1970, when the aircraft was flying RG862, from Santiago (Chile) to New York (USA), with stops in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Rio de Janeiro.
Shortly after takeoff, one of the 28 passengers took a flight attendant hostage and demanded that the plane be diverted to Cuba. The aircraft returned to Chile to refuel and followed its destination to Cuba. Arriving in the Cuban Capital, the occupants of the aircraft were again questioned and the plane was released only two days later.
On March 16, the Boeing 707 landed at Galeão airport and continued on international routes without further incident. With the retirement of commercial flights, the plane was sold to the FAB (Brazilian Air Force) and transformed into the KC-137 cargo version.
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Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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