Defeating a hijacking attempt
The 19 American members of the tour group aboard Flight 2505 were waiting as patiently as they could for the droning flight to end. Their airliner, carrying 72 passengers in all, was a Soviet-made turboprop Ilyushin-18, vintage 1960, a far cry in comfort and speed from the kind of aircraft the Americans were used to. The plane was approaching Shanghai last week when a flight that had been dull suddenly became unforgettable.
Out of their seats rose five Chinese passengers, armed with knives and explosives. They overcame the crew...