The Classiest Plane Hijacking of All Time

From Today I Found Out

In November 1961, a Lockheed super constellation operated by TAP Airlines was hijacked mid-flight by Armino de Palma in Nasio, an anti-fascist terrorist, who demanded the pilot divert to several cities, showcasing a blend of audacity and meticulous planning during an era when hijacking was still emerging as a threat. The incident highlights the complexities of aviation security and political dissent in a post-war context, as Nasio’s personal history intertwined with his radical actions agains...

Key Takeaways

  • In '61, terrorism took to the skies; a hijacker with a pilot's toolkit makes chaos finer.
  • Anti-fascism in the cockpit: how a disgruntled aeronaut turned a flight into a political statement.
  • Salazar's Portugal: austerity over spectacle—a dictator who preferred budget balancing to grandstanding.
  • Despite brutal regimes around him, Salazar's quiet governance was a peculiar ‘lesser evil’ of the era.
  • Even in dictatorship, he believed the elite should lead; a strange paradox to his anti-parliamentary stance.

Mentioned in This Episode