Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648
An Aerolíneas Argentinas Douglas DC-4 similar to the hijacked aircraft | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 28–29 September 1966 |
| Summary | Aircraft hijacking |
| Site | Stanley Racecourse, Stanley, Falkland Islands 51°41′31″S 57°52′52″W / 51.691913°S 57.881150°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-4 |
| Aircraft name | Teniente Benjamin Matienzo |
| Operator | Aerolíneas Argentinas |
| Registration | LV-AGG |
| Flight origin | Ezeiza International Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Destination | Piloto Civil Norberto Fernández International Airport, Río Gallegos, Argentina |
| Passengers | 32 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 38 (including 18 hijackers) |
The hijacking of Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 (also known as Operativo Cóndor; Spanish for "Operation Condor") occurred on 28 and 29 September 1966 when a group of Argentine nationalists hijacked a civilian Aerolíneas Argentinas aircraft en route from Buenos Aires to Río Gallegos and forced the captain at gunpoint to land in the Falkland Islands (then a British Crown Colony) in protest to the UK's presence on the islands. After landing, the hijackers raised the Argentine flag, took several islanders hostage and demanded the Governor of the Falkland Islands recognise Argentine sovereignty over the islands. On 29 September 1966, after negotiating through a Catholic priest, the hijackers surrendered and were returned to Argentina for trial.