Trans World Airlines Flight 355 was a domestic

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

flight that was hijacked on September 10, 1976, by five "Fighters for Free Croatia", a group seeking Croatian independence from

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 727-231,

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

as N94314 with

serial number A serial number (SN) is a unique identifier used to ''uniquely'' identify an item, and is usually assigned incrementally or sequentially. Despite being called serial "numbers", they do not need to be strictly numerical and may contain letters ...

20047. It was manufactured by

Boeing Commercial Airplanes Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is a division of the Boeing Company. It designs, assembles, markets, and sells commercial aircraft, including the 737, 767, 777, and 787, along with freighter and business jet variants of most. The divis ...

in 1968.

Hijacking

The Boeing 727 plane took off from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

and was headed to

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The hijackers were Slobodan Vlašić,

Zvonko Bušić Zvonko Bušić (23 January 1946 – 1 September 2013) was a Croatian responsible for hijacking TWA Flight 355 in September 1976. He was subsequently convicted of air piracy and spent 32 years in prison in the United States before being releas ...

, his wife

Julienne Bušić Julienne Bušić (; born Julienne Eden Schultz; September 20, 1948) is an American writer, activist, and the widow and co-conspirator of Zvonko Bušić. She was arrested with Bušić in 1976 after hijacking TWA Flight 355 and sentenced to life ...

, 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. The group redirected the plane to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

's Mirabel International Airport where they refueled and told officials that they had planted a bomb in a locker at

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

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 New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', and the ''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

''. 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 Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. The hijackers' initial European destination was London, but the British government refused them permission to land.Bombs for Croatia (Part I)
''Time Magazine'' 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. The plane landed in Paris where the hijackers surrendered after direct talks with U.S. ambassador

Kenneth Rush David Kenneth Rush (January 17, 1910 – December 11, 1994) was a United States Ambassador who helped negotiate the groundbreaking Four-Power Agreement in 1971 that ended the post-war crisis over Berlin. Early life Kenneth Rush was born Davi ...

, and their supposedly explosive devices were revealed to be fakes, simple pressure cookers. 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.

Imprisonment

All five hijackers were convicted of

aircraft piracy Aircraft hijacking (also known as airplane hijacking, skyjacking, plane hijacking, plane jacking, air robbery, air piracy, or aircraft piracy, with the last term used within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States) is the unlawf ...

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. Frane Pešut served 12 years in prison. He was deported to Croatia in 2007. Petar Matanić and Slobodan Vlašić were released along with Pešut in 1988. Julienne Bušić was released in 1989. 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 Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

appealed to American president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

for Bušić's release or transfer to Croatia. In 2003, the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

passed a resolution that Bušić should be transferred to Croatia, which it submitted to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. The liberal

Croatian Helsinki Committee The Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (CHC; , HHO) is an organisation founded to protect and promote human rights in Croatia. It was founded on 31 March 1993, initially as a branch of the International Helsinki Federation and latterly ...

also took up the cause of Bušić's release. On June 7, 2008, Bušić was granted parole, after serving 32 years in prison. He was then deported to Croatia, where he was greeted by approximately 500 people at

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

's Pleso airport. Among those in the crowd were

Dražen Budiša Dražen Budiša (born 25 July 1948) is a Croatian politician who used to be a leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate. As president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party through the 1990s he remains to date the ...

Anto Kovačević Anto Kovačević (21 March 1952 – 14 November 2020) was a Croatian philosopher, publicist, and politician. A native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kovačević earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Vienna. He entered Croatian politics in ear ...

, Marko Perković, and all four of the other hijackers. The crowd greeted him with a

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...

wrote a book named ''Lovers and Madmen'' about the hijacking and her love for the head of the operation. 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.

References

External links

Your Blood and Mine Official Website
* {{Aviation accidents and incidents in Iceland Aviation accidents and incidents in 1977 Aircraft hijackings in the United States Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 727

355 __NOTOC__ Year 355 ( CCCLV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arbitio and Maesius (or, less frequently, year 1108 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 355 ...

Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1976 Croatian nationalist terrorism Aircraft hijackings September 1976 in North America Terrorist incidents in the United States in 1976 Terrorist incidents in Canada in the 1970s 1976 in Paris 1976 crimes in Canada 1976 murders in the United States Hijackings in the 1970s Plots and attacks using pressure cooker bombs

Aircraft

Hijacking

Imprisonment

See also

References

External links