Braniff Flight 38

Braniff Flight 38

Braniff Flight 38, a Boeing 727 airliner, was hijacked by a lone gunman as it departed William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, bound for Dallas, Texas, Kansas City, Missouri, and Minneapolis, Minnesota....

, a Boeing 727

Boeing 727

The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...

 airliner, was hijacked by a lone gunman as it departed William P. Hobby Airport

William P. Hobby Airport

William P. Hobby Airport is a public airport in Houston, Texas, located from Downtown Houston. The airport covers and has four runways. Hobby Airport is Houston's oldest commercial airport and was the city's primary air terminal until the opening of Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969...

 in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, bound for Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, and Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

.

Billy Gene Hurst, Jr., a resident of Houston with a history of mental illness

Mental illness

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...

 and unstable behavior, was armed with a .22 caliber

.22 (disambiguation)

.22, or "22 caliber", is a small, extremely common size of ammunition..22 caliber rimfire variations include:*.22 Long Rifle , the most common variety of .22 caliber ammunition, often referred to simply as ".22 caliber"*.22 BB...

 handgun

Handgun

A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....

 and a briefcase that he claimed was filled with dynamite

Dynamite

Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...

. After the plane landed at Dallas Love Field at 2:50 PM, Hurst allowed all 94 passengers to deplane, but continued to hold the 7 crewmembers hostage. During the ensuing standoff with Dallas police

Dallas Police Department

The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas.-Organization:The department is headed by a chief of police who is appointed by the city manager who, in turn, is hired by the Dallas City Council...

 and FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 agents, Hurst insisted on flying to South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, although he apparently never named a specific destination. He also made a variety of other demands, including food, cigarettes, parachute

Parachute

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

s, jungle survival gear, US $2 million, and a .357 Magnum

.357 Magnum

The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...

handgun. Braniff officials and police negotiators stalled, claiming that the plane could not depart due to mechanical problems, refueling delays, and trouble securing the ransom money. Shortly after 8:30 PM, a package containing parachutes and a .357 Magnum handgun- which was reportedly disabled from firing- was delivered to Hurst. At 8:51 PM, the entire crew secretly escaped from the airliner's front door while Hurst was busy examining the package's contents in the rear of the cabin. With no hostages remaining aboard, Dallas police stormed the craft at 9:26 PM, arresting Hurst without serious incident. He was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.