Miss Macao

July 16, 1948 - Today was the first time a plane was hijacked.

Miss Macao was a commercial seaplane that ferried millionaires to the casinos of Hong Kong. Just after leaving Macau, 4 men jumped up from their seats and demanded to take over the aircraft. They were armed with guns but the flight crew refused to give up control. A fight ensued and in the confusion the pilot was shot dead. He collapsed onto the flight controls and the plane nosedived into the sea.

Miraculously, one of the 26 people onboard the plane survived. His name was Huang Yu, and he later confessed to being one of the hijackers. He claimed he jumped out of the plane's rear exit just before it crashed.

The Portugese authorities who ran Macau weren't sure what to do with Huang Yu. The British colonials in Hong Kong insisted they had no jurisdiction since the plane went down over Chinese territory. After waiting 3 years for some state to claim him, the Macau police released Huang Yu from prison and deported him back to China where he was unceremoniously executed.