Tom R. Bennett was the copilot on Trans Australian Airways flight 408 on the 19th July 1960, when the world’s first midair sky-jacking took place.

The aircraft, a Lockheed Electra Mk 2 (VH-TLB) was operating the last Sydney to Brisbane flight for the day. Forty three passengers and six crew were on board.

The terrorist was a Russian man named, Alex Hildebrandt. Airport security was decidedly lack back then compared to today. Somehow, Hildebrandt had managed to board the plane with a fully loaded sawn-off .22 calibre rifle, a boot knife and the components to assemble a bomb powerful enough to blow the aircraft out of the sky.

During the flight Hildebrandt went to the bathroom and pieced together his explosive device, a torch battery attached to a detonator linked to two sticks of gelignite.

The armed terrorist then paced up and down the aisle brandishing his lethal gun-and-bomb combination while threatening everyone on board.

Rather than instantly cave in to Hildebrandt’s demands, First Officer Bennett calmly approached the man in an attempt to converse and calm him down.

Hildebrandt responded by firing a warning shot that narrowly missed Bennett’s head.

Bennett immediately responded by punching the terrorist in the face. The First Officer then pulled the wires from Hildebrandt’s hand, essentially disarming the bomb.

Captain Lawrence then intervened to assist First Officer Bennett to subdue and completely disarm the hijacker, who was restrained and secured with handcuffs carried on the aircraft.

The pair then proceeded to land the plane at its designated stop of Brisbane, with all 43 passengers unharmed.

Unsurprisingly, Tom Bennett was awarded the George Medal for his heroic actions that day. Captain Lawrence was also commended for his part in restraining the high-jacker.

Because of his ‘warning shot’, Hildebrandt faced charges of the attempted murder of First Officer Tom Bennett. He was also charged with carrying an explosive detonating device with the intention of destroying the aircraft.

He was initially sentenced to a combined fifteen-year jail term, three years for attempted murder, ten years for attempting to destroy the aircraft and two years for carrying the explosives charge.

However, due to the fact he was only 35 minutes into the flight when he began assembling the bomb, Hildebrandt was able to argue a successful appeal. In short, he was still in New South Wales jurisdiction at the time of the incident and should have been sentenced under their state law.

This had no effect on the subsequent time the man spent in prison mind you. After serving the first three years of his sentence for attempted murder in a Brisbane based prison, the appeal in the New South Wales court saw him delivered straight into one of their prisons for the remainder of his original sentence.

We can only assume that First Officer Bennett continued his career in the air, armed with one hell of a story to one day tell his grand-children.

(Sources / Image Credits: Wikipedia, TAA Museum)