The True Story Behind Netflix’s The Hijacking of Flight 601

The hijacking of Flight 601, is a fictionalized depiction of the real-life incident that occurred on Sociedad Aeronautica de Medellin (SAM) flight HK-1247 in Colombia. Created by CS Prince and Pablo González, the series tells how two young men who were desperate for money came up with the plan to blackmail the Colombian government by hijacking a plane and holding the passengers hostage to facilitate negotiations. The Netflix miniseries is told from the perspective of the two flight attendants, two pilots, the hijackers and an airline official. Who negotiated with the hijackers.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Colombia was rife with kidnappings, But Flight 601 stood out because of the duration of the hijacking and the great distance the plane covered. The captivating series chronicles how the crew members of Flight 601 and several airline officials bravely rescued the passengers from the plane despite facing opposition from the Colombian government. The creators of The hijacking of flight 601 – One of many Spanish language shows available to stream – made some creative changes to the original story for entertainment purposes, but the series mostly stayed true to its source material.

The hijacking of Flight 601 is based on what happened to SAM Colombia Flight HK-1274 in 1973

The hijacking of Flight 601 is based on a real-life incident

Netflix has several TV shows that are based on real-life stories, with The hijacking of Flight 601 Serves as a great example of how sometimes reality can seem stranger than fiction. The hijacking of Flight 601 used the real-life hijacking of SAM Colombia Flight HK-1274, the titular Flight 601, as the basis of its story. On May 30, 1973, a seemingly ordinary day, Sam Flight HK-1274 departed from Bogota, Colombia, and made its first stop in Cali and then continued to Pereira, where additional passengers boarded the aircraft.

According to the BBCThe plane was carrying 84 passengers, including crew members, and not 43 passengers as depicted in the limited series. further, The plane actually departed from Ferreira, and not Bogotá. When the plane took off, the passengers and crew settled down, but little did they know that they would go through one of the most difficult experiences of their lives. Shortly after takeoff, two men wearing masks and carrying guns stood up and announced that they would intercept the plane.

The hijackers then entered the cockpit and demanded that the pilots change their destination to Aruba. When the plane arrived in Aruba, the unknown hijackers made their demands known. They wanted $200,000 and the release of political prisoners, but their request was denied. But the plane took off They had to go back to Aruba three times. The first time was because they did not have enough fuel to go to Lima, Peru, while the second was the result of other airports not having any landing space. The last time was for them to change the crew members on the plane.

During the plane’s several stops, many passengers disembarked. When Flight 601 landed in Mendoza, Argentina, only the crew and the hijackers were on board. The plane made two short stops in Resistencia and Asuncion before making its final stop in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Flight HK-1274 was hijacked by two ordinary people

Francisco Solano Lopez and Eusebio Borja hijacked Flight 601

The like The hijacking of Flight 601 Shown, the two men who hijacked the actual Flight 601 were Francisco Solano Lopez and Eusebio Borja. Lopez and Bojar are not the guerilla fighters they are pretending to be. They are Paraguayan people who went to Colombia in search of a better life when their soccer career in Ecuador ended. The two former soccer forwards were going through a tough financial time and wanted to make money quickly. Lopez and Bojar, while down on their luck and thinking about how to improve their finances, came up with the plan to hijack Flight HK-1274 ( via Today).

Their demands from the Colombian government were simple – they wanted $200,000, the release of political prisoners, and safe passage to Cuba. The Colombian government, however, refused to negotiate with the hijackers because they had a policy not to associate with terrorists. It was up to the owners of the airline to ensure that the passengers were safely returned to their family and friends. During one of their stops in Aruba, the airline officials gave the hijackers $50,000 in exchange for the release of women and children.

When the identity of the hijackers is revealed, It turned out that they were not involved with the Ejercito de Liberacion (National Liberation Party). or any other political organization. The hijacking was simply a way for them to make a name for themselves and escape debilitating poverty. It makes sense that Lopez and Borja decided to use the ELN in their hijacking plan. The ELN was the perfect grief because they were constantly in the media due to several arrests of artists and professors. After the hijacking of Flight 601 ended, Solano was arrested by the police but Boja was never found.

What happened to the passengers on flight 601?

All passengers of flight 601 returned safely

Flight 601 made several stops and released several hostages during the hijacking. The women and children were freed first, some of the passengers escaped through a hole in the plane, and the rest were freed before Flight 601 landed in Buenos Aires. The hijackers dropped them off during a stop in Asuncion and Resistencia.

When the plane landed in Ezeiza, Lopez and Borja were nowhere to be found. The hijacking of Flight 601 in the Netflix show ends after 60 long hours in Buenos Aires With all members of the crew returned safely. The hijacking of Flight 601 has since developed an almost legendary reputation, not only because of the length it lasted or the over 10,000 miles it covered, but also due to the idea that Borja had disappeared without a trace.

How accurate is Netflix’s depiction of the events?

Although most accurate, the hijacking of Flight 601 made several changes

For the most part, Netflix The hijacking of Flight 601 was accurate to the true story. This is somewhat unsurprising in a way, since the actual hijacking of SAM Colombia Flight 601 in 1973 was an event that was almost too strange to be true. This is especially the case when considering details such as Borja and Lopez’s motivations are purely financial and the reason why the hijacking lasted so long was due to their self-professed desire to set a record for its duration.

The series went into some detail when it came to the hijackers themselves, Eusevia Borja and Francisco López. Although it did not consider much in the hijacking, the global press in 1973 was attached to the face that both Borja and López met while trying to secure contracts with various professional soccer clubs in Colombia.

It’s a minor detail, but the fact that they were both trying to find a life of fame and fortune before hijacking Flight 601 reveals a lot about their personalities. It contextualizes the shallow reasons they hijacked the plane in the first place. It also reveals that they are both the kind of people who would see breaking such a morbid record as the longest prolonged flight hijacking as a reasonable goal. They both dreamed of fame on the soccer pitch, and the desire was then transplanted to a simple need to go down in the history books, even if it is due to infamy rather than athletic glory.

The main difference between Netflix The hijacking of Flight 601 was the final destination of the plane itself. The show depicted SAM Colombia Flight 601 finally landing in Buenos Aires. However, in real life, Buenos Aires was the third of five cities across South America that became pit stops on Borja and López’s journey. The final landing of the real SAM Colombia Flight 601 was actually in Paraguay, in the city of Ascunción.

Between Ascunción and Buenos Aires, the flight also touches down in the Argentine city of Resistencia. This is where Borja was believed to have left. However, the real Francisco López was on the plane when it made its final stop Ascunción, and was arrested at the city’s Silvio Pettirossi International Airport.

Of course, the other difference is the specific conversations and events that took place on the flight itself. However, since it is impossible to know exactly what happened when the flight was in the air, The hijacking of Flight 601 Can hardly be faulted by filling the void with some fictional events that turn the true story into a compelling narrative.

Sources: Today, BBC