BREAKING NEWS: Cuban airliner hijacked(?) Lands in Key West
 

CNN just reporting a Cuban airliner under military escort has landed in Key West. No other info yet. (00:59 GMT, March 20 2003)

Press Association report ...............

Fighters escort hijacked plane

US warplanes escorted a Cuban airliner to a Florida airport after it was taken over by six hijackers.

The DC-3 with 29 passengers and six crew on board landed in Key West International Airport where the hijackers surrendered to authorities and all the passengers were released.

The FAA said the plane was spotted in American airspace just before 2000 local time on Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday).

Air traffic controllers at Miami International Airport spotted the plane on radar about 15 minutes before it landed and were unable to make voice contact, Federal Aviation Authority spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

DC-3? Wow, that should get the spotters down to Key West, or am I underestimating the numbers still flying?

Wonder if they will send the culprits back to Uncle Fidel, or perhaps Guantanamo Bay!

You may be surprised newswatcher but according to the FAA database there are 561 DC-3s and 90 C-47s registered in the US. Of course not all are active, some are in museums and some are just uncancelled registrations. Still, I imagine the spotters would foam at a CU- reggie :)

Nice article in A&SM about active Gooneys a while back, happily still on their website

Thanks PT, must be one of the most enduring airframes of all time!

Unless someone knows differently.............