# How common are plane hijackings, and when was the last?

> Plane hijackings are now very rare, a few attempts a year worldwide at most; they peaked in 1968–1972 and fell after screening and locked cockpit doors.

Airplane hijackings are extremely rare today: in recent years there have been only a handful of attempts worldwide per year at most, many of them on small regional planes. Hijackings of large airliners have been rare since the mid-2010s; one of the most recent widely reported cases, in April 2025, was an armed man who tried to take over a small Tropic Air commuter plane in Belize and was shot by a passenger. Hijackings peaked between roughly 1968 and 1972, when dozens of planes a year were hijacked in the US alone and more worldwide, often to Cuba. Universal passenger and bag screening, introduced in the US in the early 1970s, and reinforced, locked cockpit doors after the September 11, 2001 attacks have made hijacking a commercial airliner very difficult. For a typical traveler, the risk is negligible.

## Why hijackings dropped

1. **Screening.** Metal detectors and X-ray checks of passengers and carry-on bags became mandatory, making it hard to bring weapons on board.
2. **Cockpit doors.** Since 2001, airliners have reinforced, locked cockpit doors, and crew procedures keep the door closed in flight.
3. **Policy changes.** Governments stopped negotiating as readily and signed agreements to prosecute or extradite hijackers, which removed many motives.
4. **Air marshals and intelligence.** Many countries deploy armed officers on selected flights and screen passengers against watch lists.

## Famous cases

- **D.B. Cooper (1971).** A man hijacked a Northwest Orient Boeing 727, collected a ransom and parachuted from the plane. He was never identified, and the case remains unsolved.
- **September 11, 2001.** Four US airliners were hijacked by terrorists in coordinated attacks, the deadliest hijacking in history. It reshaped aviation security worldwide.
- **Ryanair Flight 4978 (May 2021).** Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk under a false bomb threat and arrested a journalist on board. It wasn't a hijacking in the classic sense but a state-ordered diversion, and it was widely condemned.

## What crews do

Pilots train for unlawful interference, can signal it to air traffic control with transponder code 7500, and follow procedures designed to keep the flight deck secure and land the aircraft as soon as possible.

## FAQ

**When was the last plane hijacking?**
Attempts still happen occasionally, mostly on small or regional aircraft, such as the April 2025 Tropic Air incident in Belize. Among large airliners, notable cases include EgyptAir Flight 181, diverted to Cyprus in 2016.

**How many plane hijackings happen a year?**
In recent years, typically a few attempts worldwide or fewer, compared with dozens a year at the late-1960s peak. Most fail or end without passenger deaths.

**Why do people hijack planes?**
Mainly to flee to another country, for political goals, to demand ransom or as part of terrorist attacks.

**When was the peak of hijackings?**
From about 1968 to 1972, when hijackings occurred almost weekly at times.

**What are the chances of a hijacking on my flight?**
Negligible for any single flight, on any airline. With millions of flights a year and only rare attempts, the odds are far smaller than the everyday risks of driving to the airport.

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https://inyourtravel.com/how-common-are-airplane-hijackings/ · In Your Travel · Checked 2026-10-31