Patrick Dolan Critton (born 1947) is an American former teacher and the first successful aircraft hijacker in Canada.

Early life

Critton attended

Dewitt Clinton High School DeWitt Clinton High School is a public high school located since 1929 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Opened in 1897 in Lower Manhattan as an all-boys school, it maintained that status for 86 years before becoming co-ed in 1983. From i ...

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City. He later joined the Republic of New Africa movement. Critton was involved in several robberies and was allegedly involved in manufacturing explosives at an East Village tenement.

Background

On December 26, 1971, Critton boarded

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

Flight 932, a

DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell A ...

, in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

bound for

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Armed with a handgun and a grenade, he demanded the plane to fly to

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

. He had fled to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where he continued a life of crime. He released all passengers in Toronto on his way to Havana and after he deplaned in Havana, the plane returned to Toronto safely with the crew members onboard. No injuries or casualties were caused during the hijacking.

Post hijacking life

Canada did not have an extradition agreement with Cuba regarding hijacking at the time. After arriving in Cuba, Critton served an 8-month prison sentence. Following his sentence, he first worked in the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

industry in Cuba. Two years later, he moved to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, where he became a teacher. He later married and had two children before returning to the United States in 1994, feeling safe from the time passed since the hijacking. At the time of his arrest, he was working at A.B. Middle School in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...

. Critton remained a fugitive until 2001, when he was found by a Canadian detective through a

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

search, which at that time produced a single hit with his name that revealed the location where he was teaching. The one hit was a March 2001 article describing his mentoring of black youth in New York City.

Capture and aftermath

Critton was arrested on September 10, 2001 after nearly 30 years.

Fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfa ...

s on a

ginger ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

can he consumed on the plane linked Critton to the hijacking. Canadian prosecutors, in order to avoid prejudicing the jury, based on the views of the recent

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, which had happened the day after Critton was arrested, portrayed Critton to jurors not as a terrorist, but as a

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

per and

robber Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

whose motivation was to gain the flight to Cuba. Critton received a five-year prison sentence for the crimes. He was released in June 2003 after 1 year and 10 months and deported to the United States.Hijacker sentenced to three years
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Critton, Patrick Living people 1947 births American bank robbers American people imprisoned in Cuba Fugitives wanted by the United States Hijackers People from Mount Vernon, New York Place of birth missing (living people) Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government