Narrative:
America West Airlines Flight 727 was hijacked during a flight from Houston, Texas to Las Vegas, Nevada. The hijacker demanded to be flown to Cuba. During the incident, he held a flight attendant hostage and claimed to have an improvised explosive device. The flight was diverted to Austin, Texas, where he was overpowered and taken into custody by local authorities. The "bomb" was a toothpaste container attached to a flashlight.
In July, the hijacker was found guilty in U.S. District Court of air piracy and assaulting a flight attendant; in October, he was ordered to serve at least 20 years of a 24-year prison sentence and to pay nearly $89,500 in restitution.
| Status: | |
| Date: | Tuesday 16 January 1990 |
| Type: |  Boeing 737-300 |
| Operator: | America West Airlines |
| Registration: | registration unknown |
| MSN: | |
| First flight: | |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 34 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 39 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Austin-Robert Mueller Municipal, TX (AUS) ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Houston-Intercontinental Airport, TX (IAH/KIAH), United States of America |
| Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport, NV (LAS/KLAS), United States of America | |
| Flightnumber: | HP727 |
America West Airlines Flight 727 was hijacked during a flight from Houston, Texas to Las Vegas, Nevada. The hijacker demanded to be flown to Cuba. During the incident, he held a flight attendant hostage and claimed to have an improvised explosive device. The flight was diverted to Austin, Texas, where he was overpowered and taken into custody by local authorities. The "bomb" was a toothpaste container attached to a flashlight.
In July, the hijacker was found guilty in U.S. District Court of air piracy and assaulting a flight attendant; in October, he was ordered to serve at least 20 years of a 24-year prison sentence and to pay nearly $89,500 in restitution.
Classification:
HijackSources:
» Criminal Acts against Civil Aviation: 1990 / FAAPhotos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Houston-Intercontinental Airport, TX to Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport, NV as the crow flies is 1950 km (1219 miles).
Distance from Houston-Intercontinental Airport, TX to Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport, NV as the crow flies is 1950 km (1219 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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