The Nation - News from Feb. 6, 1986
A knife-wielding man commandeered a Delta Air Lines jumbo jet as it landed in Grapevine, Tex., and held the 232 people aboard hostage before releasing the captives unharmed, officials said. The man, identified by the FBI as Ralph A. Hughes of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who allegedly held a knife to a steward’s neck, was arrested by airport police nearly two hours after the jet landed around nightfall. An airport spokesman said officials did not know if the man had made any demands and said he appeared to be mentally disturbed. The plane, bound for Los Angeles from Fort Lauderdale, with a stop in Dallas, had 221 passengers and a crew of 11, said Delta spokesman Dick Jones.
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