a man known as D. B.

Cooper hijacked a plane and extorted US$200,000 in ransom before

parachuting over Oregon. He was never identified.

Countries around the world continued their efforts to tackle crimes committed on-board planes.
The Tokyo Convention, drafted in 1958, established an agreement between signatories that the
"state in which the aircraft is registered is competent to exercise jurisdiction over crimes
committed on board that aircraft while it is in flight".

While the Convention does not make hijacking an international crime, it does contain provisions
which obligate the country in which a hijacked aircraft lands to restore the aircraft to its
responsible owner, and allow the passengers and crew to continue their journey.The Convention
came into force in December 1969. A year later, in December 1970, the Hague Convention was
drafted which punishes hijackers, enabling each state to prosecute a hijacker if that state does not
extradite them, and to deprive them from asylum from prosecution.

On December 5 1972, the FAA issued emergency rules requiring all passengers and their carryon
baggage to be screened. Airports slowly implemented walk-through metal detectors, hand-
searches and x-ray machines, to prohibit weapons and explosive devices.These rules came into
effect on January 5 1973 and were welcomed by most of the public.Between 1968 to 1977, there
were approximately 41 hijackings per year.

1980-2000
By 1980, airport screening and greater cooperation from the international community led to
fewer successful hijackings; the number of events had significantly dropped below the 1968
level. Between 1978 and 1988, there were roughly 26 incidents of hijackings a year. A new
threat emerged in the 1980s and this was from organised terrorists destroying aircraft to draw
attention. For instance, terrorist groups were responsible for the bombing of Air India Flight
182 over the Irish coast. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed flying over Scotland. Terrorist
activity which included hijack attempts in the Middle East were also a cause of concern.

During the 1990s, there was relative peace in the United States airspace as the threat of domestic
hijacking was seen as a distant memory. Globally, however, hijackings still persisted. Between
1993 and 2003, the highest number of hijackings occurred in 1993 (see table below). This