There have been a number of airplane hijackings in American history but the very first one happened right here in El Paso.

There have been some very interesting, high profile and terrifying hijackings throughout the history of flight. One of the more interesting ones, remains unsolved.

Washington Smokejumpers Train To Fight Fires
Getty Images
loading...

In 1971, a man known as D. B. Cooper boarded a flight to Seattle, Washington. He highjacked it, demanded money and, upon receiving the money, seems to have parachuted from the plane and disappeared into history.

No one really knows for sure if he died that night or years later. For that matter, he could be alive today. The mystery remains unsolved.

Cheap Monday: Mercedes-Benz Stockholm Fashion Week S/S 2013
Getty Images
loading...

The most terrifying hijackings in history would have to be the ones on 9-11.

A total of 4 commercial planes were highjacked, 2 of which were flown into the Twin Towers. Almost 3,000 people were killed that tragic day in 2001.

World Trade Center Attacked
Getty Images
loading...

Over 60 years ago, El Paso earned the dubious honor of being the site of the very first hijacking to take place on American soil. (NOTE: Some reports say this was the first American hijacking.)

According to the El Paso History Alliance Facebook page, gunmen held the crew and passengers hostage for several hours before they were taken into custody.

A Father and son team hijacked a flight to Houston, demanding to be taken to Cuba. When the plane landed for fuel in El Paso, FBI agents disabled it, busted the wannabe Cubans and safely freed all the hostages.

This kind of kicked off the "golden age" of hijacking in America. Between 1961 and 1972, there were 159 hijackings in American airspace.

Buildings Lost Or Demolished In El Paso

How Texas Cities Got Their Names

Texas Name Origins

More From KLAQ El Paso