Myanmar’s first hijacker dies

February 28, 2024

Major Saw Kyaw Aye of the Karen National Defense Organization, who led the first hijacking in Myanmar, died at his Yangon home on Tuesday night. He was 101 years old.

His team hijacked a Dakota DC-3 of Union of Burma Airways flying from Yangon to Rakhine on June 25, 1954, threatening to blow up the plane with grenades. Their plan to use the plane to smuggle weapons for the KNDO to fight against government troops failed, however, as the plane could not reach their intended location due to insufficient fuel. They handed over control of the plane after landing in Gwa. Saw Kyaw Aye and his team made peace with the government in 1959. A film about the incident, “Burma’s Hijack”, was screened in March 2016.