Modus Operandi (9 page)

It threatens not only those who might find themselves on a hostage plane, but all of us who are concerned with the future of our nation.

The Sky Marshal Program was proposed by President Nixon in October 1970 and was one part of the United States government's response to the threat of skyjacking in general and to Palestinian skyjackings in particular. The other part of this deterrence program was the widespread installation of metal detectors in airports and the introduction of passenger and baggage searches. Congress appropriated the funds and the airlines budgeted hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the program.

You wouldn't exactly call the Sky Marshals' job an enviable one. Presumably the attractions of the job include travel to exotic and faraway places, independent work free from supervision, and carrying a gun legally. The dangers of the job outweigh these benefits, however.

Today's skyjacker does not fit into any one mold or physical description. Skyjacking is a violent means of getting a free ride and gratifying a need at the expense of other people. Of course the skyjacker is seldom a thief, however, he may be a malcontent, a dropout from everyday life, a political fanatic, a rebel with or without a cause, or an emotional disaster; he may be literate or illiterate, college-educated or have just barely finished the third grade. He may have long hair or a crewcut. He may wear expensive suits or cheap ones. He may be a cool, intellectual professional or a whimpering coward. Either way, there is no single pattern to skyjackings or skyjackers.

Some skyjack cases bear close relationships to others while others are unique. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the airlines, have psychologists who have been trying to develop a profile of skyjackers for years. It is they who first conducted interviews with what we might call "deactivated" skyjackers —those who failed or who returned home after discovering that there was no haven for them at the end of the line. They also interviewed families of skyjackers who did not return. It was on the basis of this extensive research that the behavioral profile of a skyjacker was devised. However, this profile has been criticized for a number of reasons, among them that it is too broad and based only on American skyjackers and does not have universal applications.

Why Skyjack?

Why of all things would you want to grab an airplane? Psychologists have offered different reasons about symbolism and flight and the power of commandeering but to us there is one basic reason: Because the plane happens to be there. Skyjacking is one of the current forms of protest. It is our opinion that skyjackers fall into five, sometimes overlapping, categories: criminals on the run; individuals with personal or political reasons; people or groups with organized political motivations; emotional disaster cases; losers and misfits.

Now, based on these groupings let's take a closer look at the types of skyjackers and how they operate.

Categories off Skyjackers

It has been said that skyjacking has evolved during the last fifty years into the following divisions:

1. Escaping refugees, 1947-1952, 1958-1972, 1980s

2. Transportation, 1961-1994

3. The mentally unbalanced, 1961-1994

4. Political terrorists, 1968-1988

5. Escaping criminals, 1971-1973

6. Extortion, 1971-1973, 1975-1977

7. Religious fundamentalists, 1983-1988

8. Bomb saboteurs, 1984-1994

Escaping Refugees.
The escaping refugee skyjacker will seize an aircraft to flee from an oppressive political regime. Under international law, certain immunities or exemptions for foreign aircraft and its occupants entering in distress are recognized. In a majority of these cases, a degree of immunity has been granted to aircraft including those arriving under the control of skyjackers. Political asylum has been given to skyjackers trying to escape from countries whose governments deny or disregard human rights and who do not permit their citizens to leave the country lawfully. This type of skyjacker is usually a desperate and ruthless person and will stop at nothing to get to freedom.

Transportation.
Unlike political refugees, this type of skyjacker uses the aircraft simply as a convenient means of traveling without cost or the legal formalities of entering and departing countries. The majority of these cases involve Castro's supporters in Colombia, Venezuela, and the United States, since no regularly scheduled commercial air service operates between these counties, and Cuba is one of the easiest countries to divert an aircraft to unlawfully. This category also includes persons who cannot afford the airfare so they skyjack the plane! This type of skyjacker flew mostly between 1961-1972, but is still a possibility, especially in today's tough economy.

The Mentally Unbalanced Person.
This type of skyjacker will use any method to attract attention. They can prove that they can be an effective human being by commandeering airplanes, or so they believe. The skyjacker also feels that he can start anew by gaining fame and glory. In short, this type of person is plagued by mental, emotional and social problems and seeks wide publicity to offset personal failures in life.

Political Terrorists.
These criminals skyjack planes or sabotage them in the air, but they have also attacked airports and used any form of disruption or hostage-taking that would enable them to put the pressure on governments. This type of air piracy for protest is often used for political blackmail. Perhaps the most widely known are the actions of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, but other groups have skyjacked including the Black Panthers, the Japanese Red Army, the Croatians, the Armenians and Sikhs. This type of skyjacker will usually use either implied or actual bombs to threaten those on board the plane.

Escaping Criminals.
These persons and others with criminal backgrounds use skyjacking to escape trial or prosecution. Also included in this
group
are criminals being transported from one area to another within the United Slates who hope to escape and avoid their current sentences.

Extortion.
In recent years, skyjacking attempts for profit have become common. On numerous occasions they have included the robbery of individual passengers as well as ransom demands to insure the safety of the airplane passengers and crew. They can be categorized as Jesse James skyjackings. In 1972 there was one seventeen-week period in which there was a skyjacking every single Friday. The last day of the work week became known as "Skyjack Friday." It took a great deal of effort and severe prison sentences to bring this category of skyjacking under control. This type of skyjacker is not considered to be as dangerous or as deadly.

Religious Fundamentalists.
In 1982, skyjacking of aircraft by Islamic Fundamentalists began. During the next two years, seven skyjackings were engineered by the Shiite Muslims in Lebanon. There were also numerous skyjackings to and from Iran during the civil war between the religious and secular forces of that country. These type of skyjackers are ready to die for their cause and innocent Western passengers are of no particular concern to them. This type of skyjacker is considered one of the most dangerous.

Bomb Saboteurs.
Bomb saboteurs are new and deadly to air piracy. The saboteur is a clever technician who plays the role of the hidden brain behind some of the most devastating skyjack schemes and is never found at the scene of the crime. From his concealed headquarters, whether it be his living room or his place of business, the saboteur sends lethal weapons of destruction onto planes full of passengers. Sometimes these deadly instruments are carried by their own people, but more often they are placed in the luggage of a passenger who boards the plane unaware. The advent of plastic explosives and their use against airplanes has caught airplane security by surprise, giving the bomb saboteur an enormous advantage. He is an evil genius who is challenging air security as never before. The most recent type of skyjacking involving this type of criminal was Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Vessels and Aircrafts

Pleasure boats are nice toys that many wish they could have. Sometimes, people purchase them even when they can't afford a boat. Eventually, payments become delinquent and they have to get rid of it. So, what do they do? They can hire someone to steal it, take it to a marina, and send it to a boat chop shop. All usable parts are removed and the rest is either set on fire or sunk.

If the vessel is a fast cigarette boat, drug smugglers may steal the boat to meet a mother ship out at sea, and then, much like bootleggers, bring the cargo back to shore. Because these boats are only used one time, they are usually damaged by hot wiring and then run ashore. Hot wiring is a way of diverting the ignition switch by cutting and connecting the ignition wires, thus, no need for a key. It is not uncommon at the end of the job to torch the boat in an attempt to hide any evidence that may be left behind.

Boats are also stolen for export to other countries. They may be taken from their docks, or more commonly with bigger vessels, they are forcibly boarded while under way at sea. Once aboard, the pirates either kill or put the crew out to sea in emergency life boats.

Aircrafts are stolen either for parts (removed at aircraft chop shops) or to be used to transport narcotics from Central and South America into the United States. An insider at an airport turns over the keys for the aircraft or the aircraft is hijacked. Because of the need for secrecy, the pilots are usually killed.

Because of the Federal RICO statute, the vehicles used in a commission of a crime are forfeited to the government. It is much easier and less costly to steal vehicles, vessels and aircrafts to be used in the transportation of illegal contraband.

A con artist's greatest feat is to remove money from your pocket and place it into his without putting a scratch on you or threatening physical violence. It is a saying among police detectives that any punk can grab a gun and rob you, but it takes a special, smart, cunning and sophisticated person to be a good con artist.

Salesmen of Fraud

When you write about con artists, remember one thing: They are very flamboyant characters. They are salesmen whose product is fraud. Being defined as a nonviolent crime, swindling involves elements of intentional deceit, concealment, corruption, and misrepresentation to gain the property of another, and it is facilitated by the willing cooperation of unaware or unknowing victims. Because of this trickery, the victim is often silent. Either the victim does not realize that a fraud has been perpetrated, or he is unwilling to report it for fear of being branded a sucker by his friends or the police. In New York City, the con artist capital of the world, the police department groups this type of crime under "crimes against persons."

Con artists are motivated by one thing: money, money and more money! To truly appreciate a con artist, you must watch him in action. When you take the time to observe a con artist, it is almost a shame to see the energy and intelligence expended in fraud. Since con artists are flamboyant, you might portray them as eccentric, outgoing and overzea-lous. In the pecking order of criminals, they are slightly above the sediment, because they actually use their intelligence, rather than brute force, to steal.

Take for instance Frank Abagnale, who was one of the most successful con artists in the history of the United States. For five years Mr. Abagnale worked as a pilot with Pan American Airlines and worked himself up through the cockpit from flight engineer to captain, all with a simple Pan Am identification card. Although he was a high school drop out, Abagnale passed the bar exam on his third try, and with a false Harvard Law Transcript practiced law in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also became a pediatrics consultant at a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, after reading only a handful of medical books and producing a false degree from Columbia University in New York City. He was also a Professor of Sociology at Brigham Young University. In all these places Abagnale picked up the jargon of the trade, discovered the perks of each job, and bilked company after company of either cash or free business expenses.

Quick Change/Short Change Artists

These con artists do a flimflam with money, and only need a twenty dollar bill and a one dollar bill to make quick cash, so they are in business very quickly. Often times they only need to go to a young or inexperienced cashier in a store that is so busy the cashier is only more willing to get rid of a difficult customer as soon as possible.