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TWA Flight 541
Hijacking
A TWA DC-9, similar to the aircraft involved in the hijack
Date	December 21, 1978
Summary	Hijacking
Site	Williamson County, Illinois 37°45′18″N 089°00′40″W / 37.75500°N 89.01111°W / 37.75500; -89.01111
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-9
Operator	Trans World Airlines
Flight origin	Standiford Field, Louisville, KY
Stopover	Williamson County Regional Airport (due to forced landing)
Destination	Kansas City International Airport
Occupants	87
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	87

TWA Flight 541 was a domestic passenger flight hijacked in the United States by Robin Oswald in an attempt to free Garrett Brock Trapnell, who was a prisoner at the United States Penitentiary, Marion (USP Marion).^[1] The hijacking was successfully resolved when a Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) negotiating team had her release the passengers and then surrender.^[2]

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Background

On January 29, 1972, Garrett B. Trapnell hijacked a TWA plane flying from Los Angeles to New York. He demanded $306,800 (equivalent to $2,234,734 in 2023), the release of the imprisoned Angela Davis, and a conversation with President Nixon.^[3] The hijacking was resolved when Trapnell was disarmed after being shot by an F.B.I. agent who pretended to be a negotiator.^[3]

On May 24, 1978, Trapnell's friend, 43-year-old Barbara Ann Oswald, a US Army staff sergeant on leave, hijacked a Saint Louis based charter helicopter and forced the pilot to land in the yard at United States Penitentiary, Marion. While landing the aircraft, the pilot, Vietnam War veteran Allen Barklage, struggled with Oswald and managed to wrestle the gun away from her. Barklage then shot and killed Oswald, thwarting the escape.^[1]

Incident

On December 21, 1978, Robin Oswald, the 17-year-old daughter of Barbara Annette Oswald, hijacked TWA Flight 541 and demanded Trapnell be freed or she would detonate dynamite strapped to her body. She was remembered by the hostages aboard the flight as a "beautiful" but serious girl, never showing alarm at her actions.^[4]

FBI negotiators were able to free the hostages and have Oswald surrender with no injuries or deaths. The bomb that was strapped to her chest later emerged to be railroad flares wired to what appeared to be a doorbell.^[5] Robin Oswald was charged as a juvenile with charges not being announced as is the law in Illinois.^[6]

Aftermath

Garrett B. Trapnell died in prison, in 1993, of emphysema.^[3]

Bibliography

^ ^a ^b "Plane Hijacked". St. Joseph News-Press. News-Press & Gazette Company. United Press International. December 21, 1978. p. Front Page. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9 registration unknown Marion, IL". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Killen, Andreas (January 16, 2005). "The First Hijackers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
^ "Passenger - 'Beautiful Girl' was serious". Lakeland Ledger. Lakeland, Florida: The New York Times Company. December 22, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
^ "Ex-Fort Riley chief of staff recalls hijacking". Daily Union. Junction City, Geary County, Kansas: Montgomery Communications, Inc. December 27, 1978.
^ Vega, Vivian (December 22, 1978). "17-Year-Old Hijacks To Free Hijacker". Kentucky New Era. Marion, Illinois. Associated Press. p. 11. Retrieved January 10, 2011.

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 family

Civil/Commercial

DC-9
- -80/81/82/83/87/88

Boeing 717

Military

Accidents and
incidents

DC-9	West Coast Airlines Flight 956 (1966) TWA Flight 553 (1967) Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 (1968) Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 (1968) Viasa Flight 742 (1969) Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 (1969) 1970 Dominicana air disaster Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 (1970) ALM Flight 980 (1970) Southern Airways Flight 932 (1970) Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (1971) 1972 Turkish Airlines Adana crash JAT Flight 367 (1972) EgyptAir Flight 763 (1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 (1972) Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130 (1972) Southern Airways Flight 49 (1972) 1972 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision 1973 Nantes mid-air collision Aeroméxico Flight 229 (1973) Delta Air Lines Flight 723 (1973) Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 (1974) Avensa Flight 358 (1974) Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 450 (1975) 1976 Zagreb mid-air collision Southern Airways Flight 242 (1977) Air Canada Flight 189 (1978) TWA Flight 541 (1978) Alitalia Flight 4128 (1978) Itavia Flight 870 (1980) Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 (1981) Aeroméxico Flight 230 (1981) Aeroméxico Flight 110 (1981) Avensa Flight 007 (1983) Air Canada Flight 797 (1983) 1983 Madrid runway disaster Ozark Air Lines Flight 650 (1983) Eastern Air Lines Flight 494 (1985) Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 (1985) Aeroméxico Flight 498 (1986) Garuda Indonesia Flight 035 (1987) Continental Airlines Flight 1713 (1987) Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17 (1988) Alitalia Flight 404 (1990) 1990 Wayne County Airport runway collision Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 (1991) Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108 (1991) Japan Air System Flight 451 (1993) USAir Flight 1016 (1994) Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256 (1995) ValuJet Flight 592 (1996) Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553 (1997) Cebu Pacific Flight 387 (1998) TAESA Flight 725 (1999) Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 (2005) 2006 Mexico drug bust Hewa Bora Airways Flight 122 (2008)
MD-80	Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308 (1981) Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (1987) Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046 (1988) Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 (1991) China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398 (1993) China Northern Airlines Flight 6901 (1993) Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 347 (1994) TWA Flight 427 (1994) American Airlines Flight 1572 (1995) Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 (1996) Korean Air Flight 1533 (1999) American Airlines Flight 1420 (1999) Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (2000) 2001 Linate Airport disaster China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 (2002) Lion Air Flight 538 (2004) West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 (2005) One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 (2007) Atlasjet Flight 4203 (2007) Spanair Flight 5022 (2008) Dana Air Flight 0992 (2012) Air Algérie Flight 5017 (2014) Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 (2015) Ameristar Charters Flight 9363 (2017) Caspian Airlines Flight 6936 (2020) 2021 Houston MD-87 crash RED Air Flight 203 (2022)
MD-90	Uni Air Flight 873 (1999)

Topics

Operators
- MD-80
- MD-90
- Boeing 717

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1978

Jan 1

Air India Flight 855

Feb 11

Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314

Feb 17

British Army Gazelle downing

Mar 1

Continental Airlines Flight 603

Mar 3

LAV HS 748 accident

Mar 9

China Airlines Flight 831

Mar 13

United Airlines Flight 696

Mar 16

Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 107

Apr 20

Korean Air Lines Flight 902

May 8

National Airlines Flight 193

May 19

Aeroflot Flight 6709

May 23

1978 Yegoryevsk Tu-144 crash

Jun 21

Iranian Chinook shootdown

Jun 26

Air Canada Flight 189

Jun 26

Helikopter Service Flight 165

Aug 9

Olympic Airways Flight 411

Aug 30

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 hijacking

Sep 3

Air Rhodesia Flight 825

Sep 7

Air Ceylon Avro HS 748 bombing

Sep 25

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182

Sep 26

Air Caribbean Flight 309

Sep 30

Finnair Flight 405

Oct 3

Finnish Air Force DC-3 crash

Oct 7

Aeroflot Flight 1080

Oct 21

Valentich disappearance

Nov 15

Loftleiðir Flight 001

Dec 17

Indian Airlines Flight 403

Dec 20

Indian Airlines Flight 410

Dec 21

TWA Flight 541

Dec 22

Cessna 188 Pacific rescue

Dec 23

Alitalia Flight 4128

Dec 28

United Airlines Flight 173

1977 ◄ ► 1979

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1970s
1970	Cornfield Bomber Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 Trans International Airlines Flight 863 Wichita State University football team plane crash Southern Airways Flight 932 Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26
1971	B-52C Lake Michigan crash Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash Hughes Airwest Flight 706 Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 Pan Am Flight 845 Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (see D. B. Cooper)
1972	Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 American Airlines Flight 96 Prinair Flight 191 Lake Winnebago mid-air collision Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 Delta Air Lines Flight 841 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident Southern Airways Flight 49 United Air Lines Flight 553 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash
1973	DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crash Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 Delta Air Lines Flight 723 TWA Flight 742 World Airways Flight 802 Texas International Airlines Flight 655 Pan Am Flight 160 National Airlines Flight 27 Iberia Flight 933
1974	Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 Pan Am Flight 806 Delta Air Lines Flight 523 Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 TWA Flight 514 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231
1975	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 Overseas National Airways Flight 032
1976	Alaska Airlines Flight 60 American Airlines Flight 625 Air Manila Flight 702 TWA Flight 355
1977	Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 Southern Airways Flight 242 Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 Encino helicopter crash Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash Air Indiana Flight 216 United Airlines Flight 2860 Vieques Air Link crash
1978	Continental Airlines Flight 603 United Airlines Flight 696 National Airlines Flight 193 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 Air Caribbean Flight 309 TWA Flight 541 United Airlines Flight 173
1979	TWA Flight 841 American Airlines Flight 191 Downeast Airlines Flight 46 Air New England Flight 248 American Airlines Flight 293 American Airlines Flight 444
This list is incomplete. ALM Flight 980 ditched in waters near St. Croix. Flying Tiger Line Flight 45 occurred in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands