TWA Flight 358

On June 11, 1971, Gregory White bypassed security at O'Hare International Airport and entered onto the tarmac, preparing to board TWA Flight 358.[2] When flight attendant Cathy Culver asked White to present his boarding ticket, White took out a pistol and held it to Culver's head. He then entered the aircraft and demanded to be flown to North Vietnam, in addition to demanding a machine gun and $75,000.[1]

The pilot Captain Robert Eugene Elder and co-pilot Ronald Dupuis contacted TWA Operations for help. Passengers were allowed to exit the aircraft, and while they were doing so, U.S. Deputy Marshal Joseph Zito boarded by climbing a rope into a window in the cockpit. One passenger, Howard Franks, reentered the aircraft after forgetting an item and was shot dead by White. Captain Robert Elder dragged Franks' body back to the terminal, returned to the aircraft, and negotiated with the hijacker to stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport for a larger aircraft better suited for travel to North Vietnam.[1]

While en route to New York, Zito gave an extra firearm to Don Welsheimer, the flight engineer, and both exchanged gunfire between the cockpit and the cabin with the hijacker. Once on the ground in New York, a FBI agent shot White in the arm and White surrendered.[1] The pilots, flight engineer, flight attendant, and Deputy Marshal then escaped down an escape slide. White followed and was arrested and taken to Queens General Hospital.[3] Later, White was deemed too incompetent for trial and was committed to a state mental hospital in Chester, Illinois.[1]

For further reading, see https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/13/archives/jet-hijacker-held-here-in-200000-bail-jetliner-hijacker-seized-in.html