On 15 November 1972, the first aircraft hijacking in Australia happened on Ansett Airlines flight 232 from Adelaide to Alice Springs.
Ansett Australia Flight 232 was a trip from Adelaide, South Australia aboard a Fokker Friendship bound for Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
It was Australia’s first aircraft hijacking (after an attempted hijacking in 1960), and resulted in the perpetrator’s death by suicide.
A male passenger, subsequently identified as Miloslav Hrabinec, a Czech migrant, had boarded the flight in Adelaide with a concealed sawn-off .22 ArmaLite rifle and a sheath knife strapped to his leg.
About a half-hour before the scheduled landing time, as the flight was making its descent into Alice Springs Airport, he emerged from the lavatory, produced the gun and said to a flight attendant named Kaye Goreham, “This is a hijack”.
Hrabinec then forced his way into the cockpit, however the captain informed Hrabinec that he was unable to speak to him as he was too busy landing the plane.
Hrabinec was informed by Goreham that he needed to be seated for landing and he complied. After the plane landed police commenced negotiations with the hijacker.
According to Goreham’s account, Hrabinec stated his motive was not financial (he asked for no money) but that he wanted to commit suicide in a spectacular way by parachuting into a remote location and surviving for as long as he could before killing himself. To this end he demanded a light aircraft, a parachute and a jumpsuit.
A civilian pilot and flying instructor, the local Aero Club manager Ossie Watts, volunteered himself and his Cessna aircraft. An undercover police constable Paul Sandeman, posing as Watts’ navigator, was also on board the Cessna.
According to Kaye Goreham, Hrabinec became suspicious upon seeing Sandeman and requested Goreham search Sandeman for weapons. Goreham did so but did not inform the hijacker when she felt a small firearm Sandeman had hidden.
Goreham states that the policeman “went for his gun” and the hijacker shot Sandeman in the hand and stomach. The hijacker ran off and Watts, who had been shown how to use a gun minutes earlier, began shooting.
Police marksmen also opened fire and Hrabinec was wounded. Hrabinec then retreated to a ditch where he fatally shot himself.
Hrabinec was not identified as the hijacker until May 1973.
Constable Sandeman was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery.
To see other events that happened in Australian history, visit the blog site of Advance Institute of Business by clicking on this link.
Advance Institute of Business has nationally recogised Certificate and Diploma courses available to help you progress in your career.
The Certificate IV in TESOL will allow you to teach English in Australia and many other countries.
The 10773NAT Certificate IV in TESOL is a nationally and internationally recognised qualification that will allow you to teach English to speakers of other languages in Australia and many other countries.
The practical component can be done in your own country (conditions apply), Vietnam or Cambodia. If you choose to do the practical component in Vietnam or Cambodia, we will provide hotel accommodation at no extra cost.
We have the following Certificate and Diploma courses available for your career development:
Teaching Courses
Business
Leadership and Management
Entrepreneurship and New Business
- Certificate III in Entrepreneurship and New Business
- Certificate IV in Entrepreneurship and New Business
Accounting
We will soon also be offering:
- Advanced Diploma of Business
- Diploma of Human Resource Management
- Diploma of Marketing and Communication
And there will be more courses to come in the future.
Our non-accredited speciality courses:
- Career Paths (43 career paths to choose from)
- Corporate Training
- Business English
- English Tutoring
- University and College Tutoring
- Professional and Academic Writing Skills
- Where to Study in Australia
- Education Consultancy
25% discount on all courses for Centrelink and Veteran’s Affairs recipients.
All courses are nationally recognised through our Registered Training Organisation partner Skills Recognition International (RTO 32373). We also have an advisory service on where to study in Australia.
To find out more about these courses, please click this link to arrange a free video or phone call.
Discover more from Craig Hill
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Craig Hill 
One thought on “On this day (Australia): In 1972, Ansett Airlines flight 232 from Adelaide to Alice Springs was hijacked”