Murder Of Connecticut Man In 1971 Helped Transform Airport Security

By Philip R. Devlin

Flying via commercial airline used to be an easy process. An airline passenger could arrive at the airport just minutes before departure, obtain a ticket, hurry through the concourse, and board the plane. In fact, even non-passengers could easily get access to an airplane before it departed the gate. A series of airplane hijackings and, later, skyjackings, however, forever changed and complicated the boarding process.

One of the hijacking incidents that helped to transform the boarding process involved the murder of a Connecticut man in Chicago by a hijacker named Gregory White. The incident occurred 42 years ago this month on June 11, 1971. The murder victim was named Howard Franks, a 65-year-old management consultant from Darien, CT.

TWA Flight 358 had originated in Albuquerque, NM, and was bound for New York City after a stop in Chicago. While the Boeing 727 was at the gate in Chicago, 23-year-old Gregory White of suburban Chicago boarded the aircraft, even though he was not a ticketed passenger. White had concealed a handgun inside a folded umbrella. He brandished the gun upon entering the plane when asked by stewardess Catherine Culver to present his ticket.

Darien resident Howard Franks was in front of White as he entered the plane. Franks turned to help the stewardess and was promptly shot in the head and in the back, killing him instantly. White then put the warm muzzle of the gun to the head of Catherine Culver and demanded that he be flown to North Vietnam.

In the chaos that followed, White allowed the remaining passengers to exit the plane. While the passengers exited, the pilot, Captain Robert E. Elder of Stamford, CT, contacted security personnel. A U.S. marshal managed to squeeze through a cockpit window without being detected. He was carrying two guns.

Captain Elder took off from O'Hare and headed to New York City, ostensibly to get a larger plane for a trip to North Vietnam. About an hour into the flight, the gunman left the side of the stewardess and headed for the rear of the plane. The U.S. marshal opened fire at White and passed his second pistol to a crewman, who also opened fire. White returned fire but was wounded. Upon arriving in New York White was wounded again — this time by an FBI agent — and soon surrendered to authorities. He was arrested, tried, and sentenced to life in prison.

The hijacking of TWA Flight 358 began a six-week period in 1971 when three hijackings took place. Another TWA plane was hijacked shortly thereafter. This time the hijacker, Richard Obergfell, wanted to be flown to Italy. He also took a stewardess as a hostage. The nervous stewardess accidentally stepped on Obergfell's feet while being transferred to another plane and tripped. The momentary separation that resulted enabled an FBI sharpshooter to fire two shots into Obergfell, killing him and saving the stewardess.

Aviation records show that between 1948 and 1957, 15 hijackings took place worldwide — about 1 per year. None was fatal. Between 1958 and 1967, 48 took place — about five per year. The hijacking craze really accelerated beginning from January of 1968 up until the summer of 1971. During that period, for example, both National and Eastern Airlines experienced 20 hijackings apiece, while TWA had 16. Most of the hijackers wanted to be flown to Cuba. In January of 1969 alone, eight airliners were hijacked to Cuba!

None of these numerous hijackings proved fatal until Connecticut resident Howard Franks was murdered in June of 1971. The Darien resident's murder began a new and more violent chapter in airplane hijackings that have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. As a consequence of this disturbing trend, tightened security has resulted in the lengthy security procedures and delays that typify modern airline travel.