This presentation dissects past aircraft hijackings, highlighting and addresses issues that directly affect flight crews and their survival in a hijacking and/or hostage situation. There are lessons to be learned from every hijacking event; however, our focus will mainly be on hijackings that have occurred in the past five years.

The presentation will begin with a brief history of hijackings around the world. Aircraft hijackings, although sporadic and in some years non-existent in the U.S., have continued to plague aviation since the first successful one in 1948. A discussion of attempted of hijacking between 2000 to 2002 is analyzed with important points highlighted. The average number of hijackers, types of weapons used, fatalities and injuries occurred, duration of the event and any conditions that may be experienced are further analyzed. To add food for thought, some of the conditions you may be forced to deal with during your captivity were extracted from some of these events.

What to expect during the stages of a hijacking is reviewed. The takeover, control, delay and resolution phases are all presented in a very interesting section. The takeover phase is usually violent, aggressive and abusive. This process involves victim(s) passing from a routine existence of comfortable and predictable behavior to a sudden and dramatic encounter with threats and possible death. The control phase is of utmost importance to the survival of the hostage as the behavior pattern exhibited at this juncture creates the foundation for hostage-hijacker interaction. During this control phase, the hijacker has established control of the situation. The delay phase is usually the longest phase of a hostage situation and hours may seem like days to hostages. Boredom may be broken up by moments of terror (as the hijackers revert back to the takeover phase). In the resolution phase a victim may be finally coming to grips with the whole ordeal through self-analysis of their feelings. Hostages may reveal mixed feelings toward their captors. It is during this point that the hostage may develop the Stockholm Syndrome - positive feelings for the captor accompanied by negative feelings toward authorities.

Knowledge of what to expect during a hijacking or hostage situation will further aid your being able to personally cope with the situation and help support other crewmembers and passengers during such a traumatic event.