Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648

The hijacking of Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648, also known as Operativo Cóndor ("Operation Condor") occurred on 28 and 29 September 1966 when a group of Argentine nationalists hijacked a civilian Aerolíneas Argentinas aircraft en route from Buenos Aires to Río Gallegos and forced the captain at gunpoint to land in the Falkland Islands (then a British Crown Colony) in protest to the UK's presence on the islands. After landing, the hijackers raised the Argentine flag, took several islanders hostage and demanded the Governor of the Falkland Islands recognise Argentine sovereignty over the islands. On 29 September 1966, after negotiating through a Catholic priest, the hijackers surrendered and were returned to Argentina for trial.

Background

The United Kingdom had exercised de facto sovereignty over the Falkland Islands continuously since 1833, but the Argentinean government claimed sovereignty over the archipelago (known in Argentina as the "Malvinas") and in 1964 Ambassador José María Ruda presented Argentina's case to the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization which increased the Argentinean public's interest in the sovereignty claim.

To coincide with Ruda's address, on 8 September 1964 Argentine civil pilot Miguel Lawler Fitzgerald flew his Cessna 185 from Río Gallegos to Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, and landed on the racecourse. He hoisted the Argentine ensign and asked to speak with the governor. When his request was refused, he left a written message claiming Argentine sovereignty before taking off and returning to Río Gallegos. As a result of this incident, the UK sent a permanent detachment of Royal Marines to the Falklands.

In the early 1960s the Tacuara Nationalist Movement (an Argentine far-right militant group) conducted a number of bank robberies in Argentina. With some of these funds, Horacio Rossi (a member of the group) proposed chartering a ship from Bahía Blanca and sailing it to Stanley with twenty or thirty militants who would invade the Falklands, force out the population and then offer the Islands to the exiled former-president of Argentina, Juan Perón to use as a base for his return to Argentina. The plan was named "Operation Rivero" but was never executed; however, Tacuara members Dardo Cabo and Alejandro Giovenco would go on to use some details of the plan in "Operation Condor".

Hijacking and landing

At around 06:00, when flying over the city of Puerto Santa Cruz, members of the group took out firearms hidden in their luggage. Two hijackers moved to the back of the aircraft and locked the flight purser in the toilet. Dardo Cabo, the leader of the group, and Alejandro Giovenco entered the cockpit and ordered Captain Ernesto Fernández García at gunpoint to fly to the Falklands. Captain Fernández García initially claimed that there wasn't enough fuel and that he did not know the correct route but finally complied with their demands when Cabo said the captain's family would be "taken care of" if he didn't change course. Two members of the group approached Admiral Guzmán in the cabin and informed him of the hijacking, at which point his aide-de-camp attempted to get his pistol but was struck down by one of the hijackers. In order not to frighten the passengers, they were informed that the aircraft was diverting to Comodoro Rivadavia airport.

The captain managed to find the Falklands thanks to the differences in the pattern of cloud cover over the islands. After circling, they were able to locate Stanley through a clearing in the clouds. At that time, there were no active airports on the islands, so the captain landed on Stanley Racecourse at 08:42. The aircraft was slightly damaged as a result of the landing and the right undercarriage sank into a peat bog at end of the landing run.

The hijackers opened the doors, descended to the ground using ropes and hoisted seven Argentine flags in front of the aircraft. They then announced they were claiming the islands for Argentina and that Stanley would be renamed "Puerto Rivero" after Antonio Rivero, an Argentine gaucho who murdered five people at Port Louis on the Falkland Islands in 1833.

The original plan was to storm Government House (which was next to the racecourse) immediately after landing and compel the Governor of the Falkland Islands (who was actually absent on that day) to recognise Argentine sovereignty over the islands. The hope was that this would lead to a nationalist wave in Argentina which would force Argentina's government into ordering a full invasion and takeover of the islands. However, the aircraft had come to a stop on the wrong end of the race track and was unable to move, meaning the hijackers couldn't get to Government House without being easily captured.