Hijacking and extortion George Wright (fugitive)

1 hijacking , extortion

1.1 asylum in algeria
1.2 apprehension , refused extradition of accomplices
1.3 extradition in similar preluding hijacking

hijacking , extortion

on monday july 31, 1972, wright, 29, with:

george brown, 28, of elizabeth, nj, (alias harry singleton) whom wright escaped prison
joyce brown (aka tillerson), 31, of spartanburg, sc, accompanied 2-year-old daughter
melvin mcnair, 23, born in greensboro, nc
jean carol allen mcnair, 25, winston-salem, nc, accompanied 1-year-old daughter , 2-year-old son

boarded delta air lines flight 841 in detroit. dc-8 flight bound miami.

wright dressed allegedly priest and, using alias rev. larry darnell burgess, smuggled handgun aboard flight in hollowed-out bible. 1 passenger described apparent ringleader black male, 30, wearing black mohair suit others described clerical outfit. pilot of hijacked detroit-miami flight, captain william harold may, 41 , 20-year delta employee, said wright group s leader.

the hijackers, allegedly members of black liberation army, seized plane approached miami, demanded fbi agents (dressed in bathing suits) deliver $1 million ransom plane; fbi complied. hijackers allowed 86 hostage passengers leave plane in miami, kept flight crew. ordered plane fly boston, refueled , took on international navigator. directed plane algiers, capital of algeria, sought political asylum since government had shown compassion towards struggling liberation.

may told reporters 2 of hijackers smoked marijuana continuously during flight, , commented, “they said revolutionaries, america decadent society , didn’t want live here anymore.” upon arrival in algeria, melvin mcnair had parting words pilot: re famous, said, send copy of paper.

on wednesday august 2, 1972, federal complaints of air piracy charges filed in miami, naming 5 accomplices defendants.

asylum in algeria

wright , associates briefly taken custody released after few days. reportedly, wright , group taken in american writer , prominent black panther eldridge cleaver, whom algeria s sympathetic socialist government allowed open office. cleaver wrote open letter algerian president, houari boumediene, in part:

in humbleness , sincerity, think consistent algerian tradition of struggle , revolution continue welcoming american revolutionaries ... whether come shores or airfields, penniless or millions of dollars. ...


to carry out our struggle liberation of our people, must have money. without money finance , organize struggle, there no freedom.

this hijacking represented final test of third world nation s commitment supporting contingents of african american freedom movement. @ request of u.s. government, algerian government confiscated , returned $1 million in ransom money u.s. after hijackers calls have ransom money restored them ignored algerian government, wright , associates disappeared. allegedly in 1973, group traveled ship france , lived , worked there new identities.

apprehension , refused extradition of accomplices

on may 26, 1976, wright’s 4 associates located in paris , arrested french national police carrying false u.s. passports. facing extradition united states, 4 issued appeal french people on october 11, 1976, claiming while “ready face consequences of our act,” not expect fair trial in america , “would condemned spend rest of our days in infernal prisons.” french authorities declined american extradition request in november 1976, holding 4 defendants in fleury-mérogis prison, awaiting trial on hijacking charges. on november 24, 1978, fleury 4 convicted french court hijacking. received five-year sentences, 2 years suspended women s terms. in united states, have faced minimum of 20 years. jury had found them guilty noted extenuating circumstances . george brown , melvin mcnair released in 1981.

in 2012, documentary titled melvin & jean: american story made director maia wechsler. melvin mcnair , wife, jean, work @ orphanage in french town of caen, reportedly have turned lives around completely. mcnair known coaching american baseball, teaching youth art , strategy of sport.

in 2010, documentary titled nobody knows name made hijacking. according mikhael ganouna, producer of film, wright s hijacking accomplice, george brown, lives in paris isn t worried being extradited because has served sentence.

extradition in similar preluding hijacking

the flight 841 hijacking copycat of similar incident 2 months earlier, involving hijacking of western airlines flight 701 los angeles seattle on june 3, 1972 willie roger holder, black vietnam veteran, , catherine marie kerkow, white girlfriend. hijackers claimed had bomb in attache case , demanded $500,000. after allowing 97 passengers off in san francisco, flew algeria granted political asylum. algerian government confiscated , returned $488,000 of ransom money officials. on january 25, 1975, 2 hijackers, carrying passports under names leavy forte , janice ann forte, arrested on illegal entry charges french police. on april 15, 1975, french court refused extradition request pair on grounds hijacking political act. in july 1986, french authorities moved deport holder after completed sentence 1984 assault charges.

kerkow went missing, never extradited, , whereabouts , status remain unknown.