Miss Macao

Miss Macao was a Catalina seaplane, owned and operated by Cathay Pacific on June 16th, 1948 it became the victim of the first air hijacking.

The Miss Macao was on a routine flight from Macao to Hong Kong. It was hijacked a few minutes after take off by three men, carrying guns, one of who demanded that the pilot surrender the controls. The pilot refused and was shot. As the pilot collapsed onto the control stick the plane went into a uncontrolled dive and crashed into the sea. 26 of the 27 people aboard died in the crash, the only survivor being the leader of the hijackers. The motives of the hijackers aren't known for sure. They may have been Chinese bandits, with an economic rather than political motive.

Sources

• http://www.airodyssey.net/articles/hijack.html (Note this gives the date as July 16.)
• http://www.rotten.com/library/death/maladies/accidents/airplane/