Having lost $200 in salary, handsome veteran Raffaele Minichiello held a gun to carry out the longest plane hijacking in history but only spent a few months in prison.
Plane hijackings today are often carried out by terrorists for the purpose of exerting political pressure, or causing widespread chaos and casualties. However, there was a time in the 1960s when plane hijacking became a trend in America, sometimes occurring weekly. Because before comprehensive airport security checks, bringing guns, even bombs, onto planes was very easy.
In total, in 1961-1972, more than 150 flights were hijacked in US airspace.
At that time, plane hijackings were often considered minor nuisances, and the hijackers were mostly romantic rebels who rarely harmed anyone. The most famous is probably Raffaele Minichiello.
Minichiello was born in 1949 in Melito Arpino, Italy. Due to the difficult conditions of post-war Italy, at the age of 14, his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Seattle.
Although his family's living conditions improved in the new country, Minichiello was still a teenager, not yet fluent in English, and was often bullied and teased at school.
Minichiello became quiet, easily angered and extremely sensitive to insults. These characteristics contributed significantly to the most dramatic action of his life.
In 1967, Minichiello dropped out of high school to join the US Marines, returning with a broken shoulder and a medal.
Damage to reputation from salary theft of 200 USD
Returning to the unit, Minichiello believed that the person in charge of payroll had underpaid him $200. His complaints went nowhere, and Minichiello, as sensitive and easily offended as he had been in high school, considered it an intolerable affront to his honor.
One night in May 1969, after drinking eight cans of beer, Minichiello broke into a military supply store and stole watches and radios worth exactly $200.
Minichiello was brought to a military tribunal on charges of theft. He considered it another betrayal and a further humiliation for him. He took matters into his own hands and escalated things by bypassing the court martial and the unit. He will return to Italy.
The trial was scheduled for October 29, 1969. But the day before, he quit the army and went to Los Angeles to buy an M1 rifle and 250 rounds of ammunition, along with a plane ticket on TWA flight 85 to San Francisco.
With his handsome appearance, Minichiello bypassed the meager security system of the time by flirting with some flight attendants and convincing him to let him board the plane early, through a side entrance.
His carry-on luggage included the disassembled rifle and ammunition. 15 minutes after the Boeing 707 took off, Minichiello reassembled and loaded the gun, claiming to hijack the plane.
Raising his gun, Minichiello ordered the captain to go to New York. The plane landed in Denver, dropped off passengers, then continued its journey to New York.
While the plane was refueling in Denver, Minichiello told the captain and crew that New York was not the final destination and that he planned to fly straight to Italy.
Minichiello said there people will understand why being cheated out of $200 is a great insult to honor, and it justifies the drastic steps he is taking to get justice.
At John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, FBI agents wearing bulletproof vests surrounded the plane. Whether they sought to intimidate Minichiello, or were preparing for an attack to kill the hijacker and end the incident, it was unsuccessful.
Minichiello fired a bullet into the roof of the plane, startling the FBI agents and backing away. The Boeing 707 then continued across the Atlantic to Ireland, and finally to Rome.
Minichiello carried out the longest plane hijacking in civil aviation history, lasting more than 19 hours in the air from Los Angeles to Rome, and covering a distance of more than 11,000 km.
Become a "folk hero" in your hometown
In Rome, Minichiello avoided capture by holding a policeman hostage at the airport and stealing a police car.
He rushed to a church in the countryside to seek protection, and was arrested on November 2, 1969.
As he was dragged away by Italian police, he cried out Paisà, perchè m'arresti? (Compatriots, why did you arrest me?).
The fact that suspect Minichiello has a handsome appearance has captivated many women. He immediately became a phenomenon.
With such an initial advantage in the battle for public sympathy, Minichiello's legal team found it quite easy to describe their client's behavior as "due to psychological trauma experienced in the military".
That aroused great sympathy from the Italian public and public pressure led the government to ease his punishment. At the subsequent trial, Minichiello was acquitted of all charges, except possession of weapons.
Sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, Minichiello only served 18 months in prison before being released.
After being released from prison, he signed a contract to star in Italian Western films. However, the film career did not take off and Minichiello ended up working as a waiter in his hometown of Melito Irpino.
He married the pub owner's daughter and opened a pizza restaurant named "The Hijack".
These days, Minichiello spends most of his free time maintaining a YouTube channel, mostly about accordion music.
