Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 hijacking
The hijacking of Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 (also known as Operativo Cóndor; Spanish for "Operation Condor") occurred on 28 and 29 September 1966 when a group of Argentine nationalists hijacked a civilian Aerolíneas Argentinas aircraft en route from Buenos Aires to Río Gallegos and forced the captain at gunpoint to land in the Falkland Islands (then a British Crown Colony) in protest to the UK's presence on the islands.[2] To coincide with Ruda's address, on 8 September 1964 Argentine civil pilot Miguel Lawler Fitzgerald flew his Cessna 185 from Río Gallegos to Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, and landed on the racecourse.[4] On 28 September 1966, 18 militant Peronists and nationalists (who called themselves Operativo Cóndor) boarded an Aerolíneas Argentinas Douglas DC-4 (tail number: LV-AGG) along with 14 other passengers and 6 crew.[5] So instead they chose to join the same flight as Rear Admiral Jose Maria Guzman (unaware of the plan) who was the then governor of the National Territory of Tierra del Fuego Province, under whose jurisdiction the Falklands fall according to Argentina's sovereignty claim to the Islands.[5] Dardo Cabo, the leader of the group, and Alejandro Giovenco entered the cockpit and ordered Captain Ernesto Fernández García at gunpoint to fly to the Falklands.[7] Radio amateur Anthony Hardy reported the news and his signal was picked up in Trelew, Punta Arenas and Rio Gallegos and then was relayed to Buenos Aires.In Argentina there were a number of popular demonstrations in support of the hijackers and protests outside the residence of the British ambassador in Buenos Aires and the UK's consular office in Rosario.However, President Juan Carlos Onganía (who just three months earlier had taken power in a military coup) condemned the hijacking, saying: "The recovery of the Malvinas Islands [the Argentine name for the Falklands] can not be an excuse for factiousness."[7] On 22 November 1966, the members of the group were charged by the Federal Judge of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, Dr Lima, for the crimes of "deprivation of liberty of qualified personnel" and "possession of weapons of war".A few years later, whilst part of a trade delegation to mainland South America, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Tierra del Fuego on charges of 'deprivation of freedom, public intimidation, rebellion and theft', forcing him to return to the Falklands via Chile.[4] In November 1968 Miguel Lawler Fitzgerald again flew to the Falklands, this time with journalist Héctor Ricardo García who had been a passenger on the Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648.Engineers from the Falkland Islands Government Air Service removed the wings from Fitzgerald's aircraft, which was sent back to Argentina on board a transport ship.Cabo was killed by the Argentine military junta on 6 January 1977 during Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship (1976–1983) along with others in an open area of the Pereyra Iraola Park, located between the cities of La Plata and Buenos Aires.
Aircraft hijackingStanleyFalkland IslandsDouglas DC-4Aerolíneas ArgentinasRegistrationEzeiza International AirportPiloto Civil Norberto Fernández International AirportSpanishBuenos AiresRío GallegosBritish Crown ColonyArgentine flagislandersGovernor of the Falkland IslandsArgentine sovereignty over the islandsde factosovereignty over the archipelagoJosé María RudaUnited NationsSpecial Committee on DecolonizationCessna 185governorRoyal MarinesTacuara Nationalist MovementArgentinefar-rightbank robberiesBahía Blancapopulationpresident of ArgentinaJuan PerónDardo CaboPeroniststail numberRio GallegosSanta CruzArturo FrondiziTierra del Fuego ProvinceArgentina's sovereignty claim to the IslandsCrónicaClarínPuerto Santa Cruzflight pursercockpitaide-de-campComodoro Rivadavia airportcloud coverpeat bogArgentine flagsAntonio RiverogauchoPort LouisGovernment HouseFalkland Islands Defence ForceFalkland Islands PoliceCosmo HaskardColonial TreasurerLeslie GleadellTerry PeckCatholicSaint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill HillLand RoversTrelewPunta ArenasBritish ambassadorRosarioJuan Carlos Onganíamilitary coupPrince PhilipSt Mary's Catholic Church, StanleyArgentine National AnthemARA Bahía Buen SucesoUshuaiaGeneral Confederation of LabourUnited KingdomOfficer of the Order of the British EmpireQueen Elizabeth II1967 New Year HonoursMontevideoSouth AmericawarrantTierra del FuegoNew ZealandGrand CommanderHMS EnduranceFalkland Islands Government Air ServiceDescamisadosMontonerosPeronistguerrillaArgentine military juntaArgentina's last civil-military dictatorshipPereyra Iraola ParkLa PlataCristina FernandezPalace of the Argentine National CongressArgentine Chamber of DeputiesCristina FernándezCasa RosadaBasilica of Our Lady of LujánItuzaingó PartidoLegislative AssemblyGavin ShortLondonBloomsbury PublishingThe Daily TelegraphAviation accidents and incidentsAvianca Flight 03Palomares incidentAir India Flight 101Lufthansa Flight 005Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17All Nippon Airways Flight 60Aeroflot Flight 302Aeroflot Flight 65NASA T-38 crashCanadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402BOAC Flight 911United Arab Airlines Flight 749American Flyers Airline Flight 280/DAeroflot Flight 2723LANSA Flight 501Felthorpe Trident crashPhilippine Air Lines Flight 785Air New Zealand DC-8 crash