Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
A string of airline hijackings in 1961—including one by a father-son duo that was diffused by a persuasive FBI agent in El Paso—led to new federal penalties for crimes aboard aircraft during what many regard as the golden age of flying.
By the summer of 1961, there had already been three hijacking attempts—two successful—in the U.S. that year. Then on August 3, a paroled bank robber named Leon Bearden and his son Cody, 16, boarded Continental Airlines flight 54 in Phoenix along with 72 other passengers. They sat next to each other in coach as the plane took off for El Paso, Texas.
Not long after take-off, as many passengers dozed, the father and son signaled for a flight attendant to come to their seats. As she leaned in to quietly ask what they needed, Leon Bearden shoved a snub-nosed revolver into her ribs and demanded that she take him to the pilots.
Entering the cockpit, Bearden ordered the pilots to fly to Mexico, intending to force them to fly from there to Cuba. When he was informed there was not enough gas for the southern trip, he agreed to allow the plan to land in El Paso as planned. The plane landed just after 2 a.m.
The control tower alerted law enforcement as soon as they realized the flight had been hijacked. Members of the FBI, El Paso Police Department, El Paso Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Safety, and others all raced to the airport. The FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Francis Crosby took command of the joint operations post and began to evaluate the crisis.
FBI El Paso Special Agent Francis Crosby investigated the Bearden hijacking in 1961.