1968 Hijacking Of Pan Am Flight 281 - Suspect 'Soltren' Captured

by amyellensoden | October 12, 2009 at 03:50 pm

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Luis Armando Pena Soltren was arrested Sunday in connection to the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 281 bound for Puerto Rico from New York's JFK airport back in 1968. Soltren was arrested upon arrival at JFK on Sunday after a flight from Havana.

According to a December 1968 indictment, Soltren and three others -- Jose Rafael Rios Cruz, Miguel Castro and Alejandro Figueroa -- conspired to hijack Flight 281 on November 24 of that year.

They were accused of bringing concealed guns and knives aboard and using them to take over the flight. Crew members told authorities at the time that the armed suspects forced their way into the plane's cabin and ordered the crew to fly to Havana, according to court documents

Soltren flew to New York within the custody of diplomatic security personnel after evading authorities for over four decades.

Castro and Cruz served time back in the 1970's and Figueroa was acquitted in 1969.

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