Philippine Airlines Flight 812 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Francisco Bangoy International Airport in

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...

near

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. On May 25, 2000, an Airbus A330-301 operating on the route was

hijacked Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...

by a man later identified as Reginald Chua, just before the airplane was about to land. The flight carried 278 passengers and 13 crew members.

Hijacking

The hijacker had a gun and a hand grenade. He fired a gun into a bulkhead and demanded to be let into the cockpit. When access was refused, he then demanded the passengers place their valuables in a bag before he commanded the pilot to descend and depressurize the aircraft so that he could escape by a homemade parachute. Since it did not have a rip cord, one was made with a curtain sash on the aircraft. Before he was about to jump, he was not able to overcome the gust of wind from the plane's open rear door, and a flight attendant helped him jump out of the plane. The hijacker was wearing a

ski mask A balaclava, also known as a balaclava helmet or ski mask, is a form of cloth headgear designed to expose only part of the face, usually the eyes and mouth. Depending on style and how it is worn, only the eyes, mouth and nose, or just the front ...

and swimming goggles when he jumped out of the plane together with the valuables he had stolen while the plane was flying at an altitude of over

Antipolo, Rizal Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the mo ...

. Officials initially identified him as "Augusto Lakandula", based on the name on his ticket. The pilot expressed skepticism that the hijacker would have survived the jump. Three days after the hijacking, the hijacker was found dead, his body nearly buried in the mud, in the village of Llabac, in

Real, Quezon Real, officially the Municipality of Real ( tgl, Bayan ng Real, Ilocano: ''Ili ti Real''), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,678 people. This coastal town ...

, about southeast of Manila, near the border with

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. Police authorities stated that he died since he was unable to get his parachute to open. Through his driver's license, "Lakandula" was finally correctly identified as Reginald Chua, who had reportedly suffered financial difficulties.

In popular culture

The incident is referenced in the 2013 British film ''

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

''. The film's protagonist Oscar Ramirez (Jake Macapagal) tells the story of Alfred Santos, a textile factory owner who lost his father to a gang hired by a rival factory. Having forced to shut down his business due to continuous threats by his rival, Santos hijacked an airliner and ordered the passengers to surrender their money and valuables before jumping off the plane to his death.

References

External links

Philippine Airlines Flight 812 at Aviation Safety Network
{{coord missing, Philippines Accidents and incidents involving the Airbus A330 Aircraft hijackings Aviation accidents and incidents in the Philippines Aviation accidents and incidents in 2000

812 __NOTOC__ Year 812 ( DCCCXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 11 – Ex-emperor Staurakios, a son of Nikephoros I, dies ...

Robberies in the Philippines 2000 crimes in the Philippines 2000 disasters in the Philippines May 2000 events in the Philippines