Federal Express Flight 705

On April 7, 1994, Federal Express Flight 705, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 cargo jet carrying electronics equipment across the United States from Memphis, Tennessee, to San Jose, California, was the subject of a hijack attempt by Auburn R. Calloway, a Federal Express employee facing possible dismissal at a hearing scheduled for the following day for having lied about his flight hours. He boarded the scheduled flight as a deadhead passenger carrying a guitar case concealing several hammers and a speargun. He tried to switch off the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) before takeoff. Once airborne, he attempted to kill the crew with hammers so their injuries would appear consistent with an accident rather than a hijacking. The CVR, however, was switched back on by the flight engineer, believing that he had neglected to turn it on.

Calloway intended to use the speargun as a last resort. He planned to crash the aircraft hoping that he would appear to be an employee killed in an accident. He sought to let his family collect on a $2.5 million life insurance policy provided by Federal Express. Calloway's efforts to kill the crew were unsuccessful. Despite severe injuries, the crew fought back, subdued Calloway, and landed the aircraft safely.

During his trial, the prosecution argued Calloway was trying to commit suicide. Calloway's legal representation attempted to invoke an insanity defense, but he was found guilty of multiple charges, including attempted murder, attempted aircraft piracy, and interference with flight crew operations. He received two consecutive life sentences; unlike many states, federal law provides no chance for parole. Calloway successfully appealed the interference conviction, which was ruled a lesser included offense of the attempted piracy conviction. The life sentence was upheld.