Men in Crates
A post earlier today encouraged me to tell of a little known incidend involving TAA DC9s. So, Ppruners,gather around while Uncle Aye Ess tells you of...... "Men in Crates". In a land far away(Rockhampton,Qld), in a time long ago(Tues,Sept 21,1982). Flight TN454 had just arrived from Brisbane. The dilligent & hard working porters were busy unloading baggage,when one got the shock of his life when he saw an arm rapidly disappearing back into a wooden crate. Taa staff assisted a stowaway out of the box & called police. Inside the box was $200,000 in cash(about $1.5 mill today's money). Anyhoo,4 crated men had been consigned in 4 crates on 4 TAA A/c* to 4 destinations,Rocky,Mt Isa,Cairns & Townsville. Also on board those a/c were Reserve Bank bags containing $200,000 destined for Commonwealth Banks. The stowaways also had a quantity of telephone books in their boxes. So during flight they got out of their hidey holes,found the bank bags & swapped phone books for the loot!! The heist failed because the crate the Rocky guy was in was very cramped & hot & he had lifted the lid to get some air when the porter spotted him. The police were waiting at the other ports where they apprehended the other thieves. And,that, my little Ppruners is your bedtime story. *Please note: no TAA DC9s were harmed in the apprehension of the stowaways.