The Historical Hijacking Threat and Government Response: A Persistent Problem

Hijacking has been characterized as the forcible seizure of any vehicle in transit to commit robbery, extort money, kidnap passengers, or carry out other crimes. Historically, the term was used to indicate the illegal taking of property from someone traveling on a public road. In the United States, the term first came to mean the theft of goods in transit by truck. Eventually, the term hijacking grew to encompass the seizure of ships, usually for theft and extortion. The concept of hijacking was eventually extended to include the unlawful taking of airplanes.