Los Angeles, CA — As we reflect on air travel discomforts and the tragedies of 9/11 and consider how to handle similar threats in the future, let us revisit a long-forgotten story with a very different outcome. The only hijacker ever shot aboard a U.S. airliner was stopped on September 15, 1970, aboard Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 15, a Boeing 707. The flight, originating in Chicago and bound for San Francisco, had just completed a stopover in Los Angeles when Donald Irwin, a 27-year-old armed hijacker, seized control of the aircraft. Irwin, brandishing a firearm, threatened flight attendants in the aft galley and demanded the plane be diverted to North Korea. Unbeknownst to Irwin, the aircraft was neither equipped nor capable of such a journey. His plan was doomed from the start. However, the actions of one courageous individual ensured the safety of everyone onboard. A Captain’s Quick Thinking The pilot, Captain J.K. Gilman, was quickly informed of the hijacking and remem...