Today in History - January 29 | The plane hijacking that sparked two other botched rescue hijackings
Serial bank robber and con artist Garrett Brock Trapnell hijacked a passenger flight over the United States on January 29, 1972.
Using a gun he had hidden in a plaster arm cast, Trapnell held the passengers and crew hostage for hours.
He demanded $US300,000, the release of two prisoners, including high-profile activist Angela Davis, and a formal pardon from Richard Nixon.
But his demands were not met, and he was shot at JFK Airport by a disguised FBI agent.
Trapnell pleaded insanity, something he had done successfully in several previous trials.
But his case was undone by a former cellmate, who told the court how Trapnell had coached him on how to appear insane in court.
In May 1978, his penpal Barbara Ann Oswald hijacked a helicopter, forcing it to land in the prison yard where Trapnell was being held.
But the pilot fought back and fatally shot Oswald.
Then in December of that year, Oswald's 17-year-old daughter Robin hijacked another flight while wearing what appeared to be a dynamite vest.
Her demand was that Trapnell be released from jail.
The hijacking was thwarted when FBI negotiators realised her dynamite vest was simply railroad flares wired to a doorbell.
Trapnell spent the rest of his life in a high security prison under a "no human contact" order.
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