Federal Express Flight 705
Federal Express Flight 705 was a domestic cargo flight operated by Federal Express using a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F freighter, registration N306FE, that departed Memphis International Airport on April 7, 1994, bound for San Jose International Airport.[1] Shortly after takeoff, Auburn Calloway, a FedEx flight engineer occupying the cockpit jump seat and facing imminent termination for poor performance, launched a premeditated assault on the three-member crew—Captain David Sanders, First Officer James Tucker, and Flight Engineer Andrew Peterson—using two hammers and a speargun to incapacitate them.[2][3] Calloway's objective was to murder the crew, seize control of the aircraft, and execute a suicide crash into FedEx's Memphis headquarters to enable his family to collect on recently purchased life insurance policies exceeding $2.5 million.[1][4] Despite sustaining severe injuries—including skull fractures, lacerations, and arterial damage—the crew fought back ferociously, restraining Calloway after a protracted struggle that involved inverting the DC-10 in a barrel roll maneuver to dislodge him from the controls.[2][5] The pilots regained sufficient command to declare an emergency and return the aircraft safely to Memphis, where Calloway was apprehended and later convicted on federal charges including attempted murder and air piracy, receiving two life sentences.[6][2] The incident underscored the vulnerabilities of cockpit security in cargo operations prior to post-9/11 enhancements and highlighted the crew's extraordinary resilience in averting a potential mass-casualty disaster.[4]