Hijacked: The True Story Of The Heroes Of Flight 705 [Hardcover]

Dave Hirschman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 1997

David Sanders, Jim Tucker, and Andy Peterson had taken off on a regular "out-and-back, " delivering and picking up packages for FedEx's next-day service. They had one jumpseat passenger, an off-duty colleague who they assumed was simply taking advantage of the FedEx perk allowing virtually all employees to ride the company jets for free. The shock came twenty minutes later, before the plane had reached its normal cruising altitude. The lone passenger attacked the pilots with hammers and a spear gun. He'd had his diabolical plan in the works for months: By crashing the plane into the Federal Express Memphis hub, he'd ruin the company, which he felt had treated him unfairly. With superhuman strength fueled by sheer fury, the attacker struck the pilots again and again. What he didn't count on was the skill and intelligence of the pilots. While Sanders and Peterson tried to stop the relentless battering, copilot Tucker swung the aircraft into dangerous flight maneuvers in an attempt to literally knock the man off his feet. Hijacked tells the true story of three men who became heroes. Reverberations from the ordeal will echo indefinitely for the men and their families - as the story itself will captivate every reader.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

On April 7, 1994, two days before a scheduled disciplinary hearing, FedEx flight engineer Auburn Calloway joined the ranks of disgruntled employees who mix revenge with violence when he hijacked a DC-10 cargo jet en route from Memphis to San Jose. His plan to kill the crew and crash the plane backfired when the three-man crew--David Sanders (pilot), Jim Tucker (copilot), and Andy Peterson (flight engineer)--did not succumb to his brutal hammer blows to their skulls. With Tucker and Peterson in the cabin trying to subdue the agitated Calloway, Sanders landed the plane against heavy odds: the freight and fuel were too heavy, the approach speed was too fast, and parts of the plane had fallen off. Reporter and pilot Hirschman, who was on the story from the beginning, describes the thwarted hijacking; recovery of the injured airmen; and trial of Calloway. The bravery of the crewmen shines throughout as they saved the plane, the company, and the community from a major disaster. Jennifer Henderson

From Kirkus Reviews

The gripping record of a ``routine'' Federal Express fast- freight flight between Memphis and San Jose in April 1994 that went horribly wrong. There were three crewmen on the DC-10 that night: David Sanders, the captain, a cool, 49-year-old pilot from west Texas; Jim Tucker, the copilot, a tall, powerful athlete; and Andy Anderson, a flight engineer from Mississippi. They had one passenger, Auburn Calloway, also a FedEx pilot, and a man with serious problems. An African-American, Calloway believed that he had been the object of racist harassment in the navy and at FedEx. The divorced Calloway, a karate expert, suspected that he was about to be fired and would thus be unable to provide for his two children. He drafted a will and, acting coolly and with caution, managed to hide hammers, a speargun, and a knife on the plane. He intended to kill the crew and crash the plane into a residential area, believing that the crash would be treated as an accident. Striking swiftly, he managed to assault Tucker and Anderson, fracturing their skulls. But they didn't lose consciousness and began fighting back. Tucker put the plane through a series of dizzying maneuvers, tossing the rest of the crew and Calloway about the cabin, causing Calloway to drop the speargun with which he had been attempting to kill Sanders. Hirschman, a reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, provides a moment-by-moment reconstruction of the crew's long, bloody battle with Calloway. Bleeding, disoriented, weakening quickly, Tucker and Anderson nonetheless managed to restrain their assailant. Sanders, in great pain (Calloway had almost severed one of his ears in the initial attack) miraculously brought the plane into Memphis for a safe landing. Hirschman provides a summary of Calloway's trial. Convicted, he was sentenced to life in prison. A moving portrait of three quiet heroes. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (June 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688152678
• ISBN-13: 978-0688152673
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! HEROS! Ordinary men in an extraordinary situation, March 29, 2002

By 

M. Wallace "waliwrld1" (Oklahoma City, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hijacked: The True Story Of The Heroes Of Flight 705 (Hardcover)

I first read about this story in Reader's Digest and was so engrossed in it that I went to my local Bookstore and ordered it shipped "RUSH". I was raised at an airport and have been an avid follower of aviation. I found this book to have a GREAT balance of technical and lay details of aviation. Furthermore, I had a long talk with a FedEx 727 Captain who was "Non-Reving" on our airline about this incident, he knows this crew personally and was there at the Memphis airport when this happened. He also thought that the book was well written and quite accurate and realistic. I LOVE true stories of courage and strength. I was not disappointed in the purchase of this book. GOOD LUCK to David, Jim, and Andy and their families. Our prayers are with you all. Dave ... Thanx for a GREAT Book. God Bless ... mike

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hijacked a runaway hit!, December 2, 1999

By 

Maurice A. Fairley (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hijacked: The True Story Of The Heroes Of Flight 705 (Hardcover)

I'm surprised at the number of people I come across who have never heard of this book's subject matter -- the attempted hijacking of a Fedex cargo airplane by a disgruntled pilot-employee. When one mentions that it was a cargo airplane, people usually respond with a frown. "Why on earth would anyone want to hijack a cargo airplane?" they ask. Well, read the book and find out; it covers an amazing story. I found the book very difficult to put down -- just the kind I like. The technical details were very accurate and, especially to my liking, the book was very well written. I'll promise you this: if you like suspense, you won't be disappointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Really Good Book, April 7, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hijacked (Mass Market Paperback)

This book really reads fast, the only thing that slowed me down was that I kept telling my wife bits from the pages. When the attack took place the author does a great job of making you see the full event? I do not even remember hearing much about this in the past but here are all the facts. It really makes the hardened cockpit doors look like a long overdue idea. Sometimes with airline books you get a lot of pilot speak that is hard to understand but not here - the author does a great job of explaining everything, almost like if he were with you in the living room while you read. You also really get to feel for the victims of this madman. You do not have to be interested in airlines to get a lot out of this book; it is just an overall great read.