TWA Flight 541

TWA Flight 541
	A TWA DC-9, similar to the aircraft involved in the hijack
Hijacking
Date	December 21, 1978
Summary	Hijacking
Site	Williamson County, Illinois; 37°45′18″N 089°00′40″W / 37.75500°N 89.01111°W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-9
Operator	Trans World Airlines
Flight origin	Standiford Field, Louisville, KY
Stopover	Williamson County Regional Airport (due to forced landing)
Destination	Kansas City International Airport
Occupants	87
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	87

TWA Flight 541 was a domestic passenger flight hijacked in the United States by Robin Oswald in an attempt to free Garrett Brock Trapnell, who was a prisoner at the United States Penitentiary, Marion (USP Marion).^[1] The hijacking was successfully resolved when a Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) negotiating team had her release the passengers and then surrender.^[2]

Background

On January 29, 1972, Garrett B. Trapnell hijacked a TWA plane flying from Los Angeles to New York. He demanded $306,800 (equivalent to $2,234,734 in 2023), the release of the imprisoned Angela Davis, and a conversation with President Nixon.^[3] The hijacking was resolved when Trapnell was disarmed after being shot by an F.B.I. agent who pretended to be a negotiator.^[3]

On May 24, 1978, Trapnell's friend, 43-year-old Barbara Ann Oswald, a US Army staff sergeant on leave, hijacked a Saint Louis based charter helicopter and forced the pilot to land in the yard at United States Penitentiary, Marion. While landing the aircraft, the pilot, Vietnam War veteran Allen Barklage, struggled with Oswald and managed to wrestle the gun away from her. Barklage then shot and killed Oswald, thwarting the escape.^[1]

Incident

On December 21, 1978, Robin Oswald, the 17-year-old daughter of Barbara Annette Oswald, hijacked TWA Flight 541 and demanded Trapnell be freed or she would detonate dynamite strapped to her body. She was remembered by the hostages aboard the flight as a "beautiful" but serious girl, never showing alarm at her actions.^[4]

FBI negotiators were able to free the hostages and have Oswald surrender with no injuries or deaths. The bomb that was strapped to her chest later emerged to be railroad flares wired to what appeared to be a doorbell.^[5] Robin Oswald was charged as a juvenile with charges not being announced as is the law in Illinois.^[6]

Aftermath

Garrett B. Trapnell died in prison, in 1993, of emphysema.^[3]

Bibliography

^ ^a ^b "Plane Hijacked". St. Joseph News-Press. News-Press & Gazette Company. United Press International. December 21, 1978. p. Front Page. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9 registration unknown Marion, IL". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Killen, Andreas (January 16, 2005). "The First Hijackers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
^ "Passenger - 'Beautiful Girl' was serious". Lakeland Ledger. Lakeland, Florida: The New York Times Company. December 22, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
^ "Ex-Fort Riley chief of staff recalls hijacking". Daily Union. Junction City, Geary County, Kansas: Montgomery Communications, Inc. December 27, 1978.
^ Vega, Vivian (December 22, 1978). "17-Year-Old Hijacks To Free Hijacker". Kentucky New Era. Marion, Illinois. Associated Press. p. 11. Retrieved January 10, 2011.

[St._Joseph_News-Press-1] "Plane Hijacked". St. Joseph News-Press. News-Press & Gazette Company. United Press International. December 21, 1978. p. Front Page. Retrieved January 10, 2011.

[ASN-2] Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9 registration unknown Marion, IL". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved August 30, 2020.

[nytimes.com.2005.01.16-3] Killen, Andreas (January 16, 2005). "The First Hijackers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 10, 2011.

[Lakeland_Ledger-4] "Passenger - 'Beautiful Girl' was serious". Lakeland Ledger. Lakeland, Florida: The New York Times Company. December 22, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved January 10, 2011.

[Daily_Union-5] "Ex-Fort Riley chief of staff recalls hijacking". Daily Union. Junction City, Geary County, Kansas: Montgomery Communications, Inc. December 27, 1978.

[Kentucky_New_Era-6] Vega, Vivian (December 22, 1978). "17-Year-Old Hijacks To Free Hijacker". Kentucky New Era. Marion, Illinois. Associated Press. p. 11. Retrieved January 10, 2011.

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v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1970s
1970	Cornfield Bomber (February 1970) Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 (March 1970) ALM Flight 980 (May 1970)* Trans International Airlines Flight 863 (September 1970) Wichita State University football team plane crash (October 1970) Southern Airways Flight 932 (November 14 1970) Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26 (November 27 1970)
1971	B-52C Lake Michigan crash (January 1971) Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash (May 1971) Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (June 6 1971) Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 (June 7 1971) Pan Am Flight 845 (July 1971) Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 (September 1971) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (See D. B. Cooper, November 1971)
1972	Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 (March 1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 (May 1972) American Airlines Flight 96 (June 12 1972) Prinair Flight 191 (June 24 1972)* Lake Winnebago mid-air collision (June 29 1972) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 (July 5 1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 841 (July 31 1972) Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident (September 1972) Southern Airways Flight 49 (November 1972) United Air Lines Flight 553 (December 10 1972) Chicago–O'Hare runway collision (December 20 1972) Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (December 29 1972) Puerto Rico DC-7 crash (December 31 1972)*
1973	DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crash (February 1973) Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 (July 23 1973) Delta Air Lines Flight 723 (July 31 1973) TWA Flight 742 (August 1973) World Airways Flight 802 (September 8 1973) Texas International Airlines Flight 655 (September 27 1973) Pan Am Flight 160 (November 3 1973) National Airlines Flight 27 (November 3 1973) Iberia Flight 933 (December 1973)
1974	Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 (January 6 1974) Pan Am Flight 806 (January 30 1974)* Delta Air Lines Flight 523 (February 1974) Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 (September 1974) TWA Flight 514 (December 1 1974) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231 (December 1 1974)
1975	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 (Janaury 1975) Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 (June 1975) Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 (August 1975) Overseas National Airways Flight 032 (November 1975)
1976	Alaska Airlines Flight 60 (April 5 1976) American Airlines Flight 625 (April 27 1976)* Air Manila Flight 702 (June 1976) TWA Flight 355 (September 1976)
1977	Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 (January 1977) Southern Airways Flight 242 (April 4 1977) Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 (April 12 1977) Encino helicopter crash (August 1977) Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash (October 1977) Air Indiana Flight 216 (December 13 1977) United Airlines Flight 2860 (December 18 1977) Vieques Air Link crash (December 19 1977)*
1978	Continental Airlines Flight 603 (March 1 1978) United Airlines Flight 696 (March 13 1978) National Airlines Flight 193 (May 1978) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 (September 25 1978) Air Caribbean Flight 309 (September 26 1978)* Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217 (December 4 1978) TWA Flight 541 (December 21 1978) United Airlines Flight 173 (December 28 1978)
1979	TWA Flight 841 (April 1979) American Airlines Flight 191 (May 25 1979) Downeast Airlines Flight 46 (May 30 1979) Air New England Flight 248 (June 17 1979) American Airlines Flight 293 (June 20 1979) American Airlines Flight 444 (November 1979)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that either took place in a U.S. territory, or in adjacent waters thereof. Flying Tiger Line Flight 45 (July 1970) occurred in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands

Background

Incident

Aftermath

See also

Bibliography