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TWA Flight 355

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TWA Flight 355
N94314, the aircraft involved seen here on October 3, 1989
Hijacking
DateSeptember 10, 1976
SummaryHijacking
SiteUnited States and Canada
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 727-231
OperatorTrans World Airlines
IATA flight No.TW355
ICAO flight No.TWA355
Call signTWA 355
RegistrationN94314
Flight originLaGuardia Airport, New York
1st stopoverMirabel International Airport, Canada
2nd stopoverGander International Airport, Canada
3rd stopoverKeflavik International Airport, Iceland
Last stopoverParis, France
DestinationO'Hare International Airport, Chicago
Occupants46
Passengers41 (including 5 hijackers)
Crew5
Fatalities0
Survivors46
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities1

TWA Flight 355 was a domestic Trans World Airlines flight that was hijacked on September 10, 1976, by five "Fighters for Free Croatia",[1] a group seeking Croatian independence from Yugoslavia.

Aircraft

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The aircraft involved was a Boeing 727-231, registered as N94314 with serial number 20047. It was manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in 1968.[2]

Hijacking

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The Boeing 727 plane took off from New York's LaGuardia Airport and was headed to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The hijackers were Slobodan Vlašić, Zvonko Bušić, his wife Julienne Bušić,[3] Petar Matanić, and Frane Pešut. The hijackers claimed to have a bomb with them as they seized control of the plane in the 95th minute of its flight.[4]

The group redirected the plane to Montreal's Mirabel International Airport where they refueled and told officials that they had planted a bomb in a locker at Grand Central Terminal and gave them instructions on finding it. They demanded that an appeal to the American people concerning Croatia's independence be printed in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, and the International Herald Tribune. The plane was then flown to Gander, Newfoundland, where 35 of its passengers were released. From there the plane was accompanied by a larger TWA plane that guided it to Keflavík, Iceland. The hijackers' initial European destination was London, but the British government refused them permission to land.[5]

During the hijacking the device at Grand Central Terminal was found and taken to Rodman's Neck Firing Range where police attempted to dismantle it rather than detonate it. After setting a cutting instrument on the two wires attached to the device, the officers retreated from the pit for several minutes. When they returned to the pit to continue dismantling the device, it exploded and killed NYPD officer Brian Murray, and wounded another, Terrence McTigue.[6]

The plane landed in Paris where the hijackers surrendered after direct talks with U.S. ambassador Kenneth Rush, and their supposedly explosive devices were revealed to be fakes, simple pressure cookers.[4][5][7] As the police took Julienne Bušić away, the plane's pilot gave her a hug in gratitude for her calming of the passengers during the hijacking.[8]

Imprisonment

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All five hijackers were convicted of aircraft piracy and conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy. Zvonko Bušić and Julienne Bušić were convicted of more serious charges of aircraft piracy resulting in death for the killing of Brian Murray. Zvonko and Julienne both received mandatory life sentences, while Pešut, Matanić, and Vlašić each received 30-year sentences.[9]

Frane Pešut served 12 years in prison. He was deported to Croatia in 2007.[10] Petar Matanić and Slobodan Vlašić were released along with Pešut in 1988.[11] Julienne Bušić was released in 1989.[12] By the 1990s and early 2000s, the last remaining hijacker in prison was Zvonko Bušić. On several occasions after Croatian independence, Croatian president Franjo Tuđman appealed to American president Bill Clinton for Bušić's release or transfer to Croatia.[13] In 2003, the Croatian Parliament passed a resolution that Bušić should be transferred to Croatia, which it submitted to the Council of Europe.[14] The liberal Croatian Helsinki Committee also took up the cause of Bušić's release.[12]

On June 7, 2008, Bušić was granted parole, after serving 32 years in prison.[15] He was then deported to Croatia, where he was greeted by approximately 500 people at Zagreb's Pleso airport.[16] Among those in the crowd were Dražen Budiša, Anto Kovačević, Marko Perković, and all four of the other hijackers. The crowd greeted him with a Nazi salute.[17][18]

Julienne Bušić wrote a book named Lovers and Madmen about the hijacking and her love for the head of the operation.[19]

Zvonko Bušic committed suicide on September 1, 2013, by gunshot at his home in Rovanjska near Zadar; he was discovered by his wife. He was 67 years old.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Zvonko Busic, Julienne Busic, Petar Matanic, Frane Pesut, defendants-appellants, 592 F.2d 13 (2d Cir. 1978) :: Justia (United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit)". cases.justia.com. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "Unlawful Interference Boeing 727-231 N94314, Friday 10 September 1976". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "Green Light Interview with Julienne Bušić". avsec.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Angelo Patrizio and Mike Mudge. "TW 355 Hijacked!". twaseniorsclub.org. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Bombs for Croatia (Part I), Time Magazine
  6. ^ Weiss, Murray (August 27, 1998). "Bid to Free Bomber who Killed N.Y. Cop". New York Post.
  7. ^ Bombs for Croatia (Part II), Time Magazine
  8. ^ The Hijackee Syndrome, Time Magazine
  9. ^ Seigel, Max H. (July 22, 1977). "3 CROATS ARE GIVEN 30-YEAR SENTENCES (Published 1977)". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  10. ^ "Jutarnji list - Frane Pešut deportiran u Hrvatsku". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). February 15, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  11. ^ After 32 years Bušić freed by his wife and the HHO, Slobodna Dalmacija. June 8, 2008.
  12. ^ a b Robert Bajruši (July 30, 2007). "HHO u operaciji oslobađanja Zvonka Bušića" [HHO set to free Zvonko Bušić]. Nacional (in Croatian). Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  13. ^ Zvonko's dream became a reality, Slobodna Dalmacija. June 24, 2008.
  14. ^ "Zvonko Bušić 18 years longer in jail than others". javno.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  15. ^ Paroling of Bušić after 32 years in prison in America Archived July 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Večernji list. June 7, 2008.
  16. ^ Finally I'm in a free homeland Archived July 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Jutarnji list. June 24, 2008.
  17. ^ Bušić: I am not a thief that I'd secretly return to Croatia Archived July 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Večernji list. June 24, 2008.
  18. ^ Drakulić, Slavenka (August 28, 2008). "Shadows in the sunshine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Busic, J.E. (2007). Lovers and Madmen: A True Story of Passion, Politics, and Air Piracy. Ink & Paper Group, LLC. ISBN 978-0-9769261-0-8. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  20. ^ "Naslovnica - tportal". daily.tportal.hr. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
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