“Two armed revolutionaries hijack Flight 601 and threaten to blow it up unless the Colombian government releases 50 political prisoners and pays them a hefty ransom in cash. While politicians in power refuse to negotiate, aggressors shoot one passenger every hour and force pilots to fly over all of America Latin. The captain and two brave stewardesses try to outsmart the kidnappers while talking to local authorities. In the face of impending horror, the crew fights to bring the hostages home safely,” we read in the description of the new six-episode Netflix production. It is worth adding that although the scriptwriters were inspired by real events, it is a highly fictionalized story.
They’ve already told the true story once, and now they’re telling the story of the hijacking of Flight 601
“This suspenseful political thriller is based on facts that took place on May 30, 1973,” writes the distributor about the Spanish-language series “The Hijacking of Flight 601”, co-directed by Camilo Prince and Pablo González. They try to keep viewers in suspense, also drawing attention to the style of the 1970s. Hence, among others. this is what the photos look like – notice the ubiquity of brown. It is not a pure thriller either, there is a lot of emotion in it, almost like a Latin American soap opera – which is not an objection!
They have a drama from 2020 called “The Theft of the Century”. It is also a series based on facts. It tells the story of the attack on the Colombian central bank that took place in 1994. Thieves stole $33 million, and as a result, the entire country plunged into chaos. This production, also available on Netflix, was positively received by both reviewers and viewers. From the former, “The Theft of the Century” received 83 percent. positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The latter gave up to 85 percent.
What was it really like?
There were 84 passengers on board the Lockheed L-188A Electra passenger aircraft, operated by SAM Colombia. In total, there were 93 people on the plane. Two male kidnappers wearing balaclavas and guns demanded $200,000 and the release of 140 political prisoners sentenced in El Socorro, Colombia. When politicians in power refused to negotiate, they forced pilots to fly over much of Latin America. The kidnapping lasted over 60 hours – it is the longest in the history of Latin America, and at that time it was also the longest in terms of distance traveled – 22,750 km.
Hijacking of Flight 601 Pablo Arellano / Netflix promotional materials
On May 30, 1973, the plane was flying from Cali to Bogota, with a stopover in Pereira. According to the Flight Safety Foundation, the hijacking occurred at 2:35 p.m., approximately twenty minutes into takeoff from Pereira. The hijackers then demanded a flight to Medellín, where it was refueled, and then the plane took off towards Aruba. There, the plane ran out of food at night and, upon request, passengers were given bread with cheese or tomato. It was extremely hot on the plane, and a small child in a plastic cot was crying a lot. One of the hijackers decided to let the mother and her child out of the plane, but said that if he made a false move, two flight attendants would pay with their lives.
During the negotiations, 31 passengers were released. Early on the morning of May 31 at 4:00 a.m., the plane took off and flew to Lima, Peru, but technical problems forced the crew to return to Aruba. After repairs were completed, Electra took off again, heading for Central America. After deciding not to land in San Salvador, the hijackers requested transportation back to Aruba. The plane was back there at 10:30 p.m. That night, the hijackers received $50,000 from the SAM airline – the ransom was transferred during a crew change. Previously, the airline’s lawyer, Ignacio Mustafa, offered them $20,000, but they rejected the offer and at one point even increased the amount to $300,000.
The next morning, June 1 at 03:15, Electra took off from Aruba and landed in Guayaquil, Ecuador at 07:46. After refueling, the plane departed 45 minutes later, landing in Lima, Peru at 10:46. Another 14 passengers were released in Lima.
Less than two hours later, the plane took off again and landed in Mendoza, Argentina, a few minutes after 6 p.m. There, the remaining passengers regained their freedom. After stops in Resistencia and Asunción, Paraguay, the hijack ended on June 2 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after the tower lost contact with the pilot for a period of time. The hijackers could not be caught at the airport, the police assumed that they escaped in Resistencia or Asunción – some sources say that one left the plane in one and the other in the next town. The captain explained that it was a “gentleman’s agreement” which, in exchange for following the instructions allowing the hijackers to disappear, was to guarantee the safety of the crew remaining on board. If the pilot did not promise to conceal their disappearance until landing in Buenos Aires, the hijackers allegedly threatened to take one of the flight attendants with them. According to other accounts, they both wanted to get off at Resistencia airport, but taking three hostages with them, until the captain offered them a deal.
Who were the hijackers of Flight 601?
In real life, unlike in the Netflix series, the kidnappers still had masks on their faces. Therefore, after they escaped, it was not easy to catch them. One of the passengers helped to identify the criminals. On board were cyclists José Barreto, Luis Alfonso Reátegui and Carlos Montoya, who were flying to the competition. While trying to convince their kidnappers to let them participate by releasing them, they learned some facts about them. According to Reátegui, they must have had connections with the sports community.
For those who are not afraid of spoilers, we explain that in 1973, a plane was hijacked by two former football players. When the police identified them, they turned out to be 27-year-old Óscar Eusebio Borja and 31-year-old Francisco José Solano López. At first, it seemed that the kidnappers might be linked to the National Liberation Army, a guerrilla group operating in Colombia. However, they were driven by economic considerations, and the demands for political prisoners were only a deception.
Fortunately, there were no fatalities. As we now know, the threats to blow up the plane were also unrealistic because the hijackers did not have explosives at their disposal. They probably also scared the passengers and crew by shooting blanks.
Did the kidnappers get justice? First, authorities arrested Lopez. At that time, he was staying in a rented apartment near his family home in Asuncion. Two years after his arrest, Lopez was finally brought from Paraguay to Colombia, where he was sentenced to five years in prison. After his release, Lopez kept a low profile, so we can only rely on rumors that he was probably killed during a failed bank robbery in Buenos Aires. Borja, however, is still at large.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
