Abstract

World Law and the Hijackers

The inauguration of nonstop jet service between Nashville, Tennessee, and Miami, Florida, was no earth-shaking event, but important enough locally to persuade the Mayor and a few lesser dignitaries to be on hand for ribbon-cutting ceremonies. The newsmen filed their perfunctory stories and then the real news broke: that first nonstop jet from Nashville to Miami was hijacked, becoming instead nonstop to Havana. The hijacking itself was hardly novel; like a score of similar happenings in recent months, it followed an all too familiar script. A gunman, forcing his way into the cockpit, ordered the pilot to change course and head for Cuba; the pilot prudently obeyed. Hijacking has become so common in recent months that at least one major airline has instructed its pilots not to resist, but simply to keep the company posted as to the plane's whereabouts.