United Airlines Flight 696

United Airlines Flight 696
	A United Airlines Boeing 727 similar to the incident aircraft
Hijack
Date	March 13, 1978
Summary	Aircraft hijacking
Site	Oakland, California; Denver, Colorado ; 39°45′38.6″N 104°53′31.1″W / 39.760722°N 104.891972°W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 727
Operator	United Airlines
Registration	Unknown
Flight origin	San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California
1st stopover	Oakland, California
Last stopover	Denver, Colorado
Destination	Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington
Fatalities	0
Injuries	3
Survivors	75

United Airlines Flight 696 was a flight from San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, to Seattle, Washington, with 75 people in board on March 13, 1978, which was hijacked by a man claiming to have a bomb. The incident resulted in no serious injuries and the arrest of the hijacker, Clay Thomas.^[1]^[2]

Background

After takeoff from San Francisco, Clay Thomas, claiming to have a bomb, hijacked the Boeing 727-222, demanding the plane land in Oakland, California, and fuel up for a flight to Cuba. The crew negotiated the release of all the passengers and cabin crew while on the ground in Oakland waiting for fuel. Panicked by the sight of police vehicles, Thomas cut the fueling short and demanded an immediate departure to Cuba. Once the plane was airborne, the pilot explained that the aircraft still did not have enough fuel to reach Cuba, and Thomas agreed to land in Denver, Colorado, for more fuel. About 90 minutes after landing, the three members of the cockpit crew all jumped to safety from the open cockpit windows, all suffering injuries in the 18-foot (5.5 m) jump. Within five minutes of the escape and without hostages, Thomas meekly surrendered to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.^[3]^[4]

References

^ "Officials could not call hijacker's bluff". Wisconsin State Journal. 1978-03-16. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
^ "FBI sure hijacker didn't have a bomb". Clarion-Ledger. 1978-03-16. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-222 registration unknown Memphis, Denver". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network.
^ "Officials Hijacker of Jet in San Francisco Had Bomb". Albuquerque Journal. 1978-03-16. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-03-05.

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[1] "Officials could not call hijacker's bluff". Wisconsin State Journal. 1978-03-16. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-03-05.

[2] "FBI sure hijacker didn't have a bomb". Clarion-Ledger. 1978-03-16. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-03-05.

[ASN-3] Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-222 registration unknown Memphis, Denver". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network.

[4] "Officials Hijacker of Jet in San Francisco Had Bomb". Albuquerque Journal. 1978-03-16. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-03-05.

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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

See also

References