Auburn Calloway

FedEx Express Flight 705

N306FE, the involved aircraft, landing at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Nevada, in October 2016.
Hijacking summary
Date	April 7, 1994 (1994-04-07)
Summary	Attempted suicide hijacking
Site	Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Passengers	1 (hijacker)
Crew	3
Fatalities	0
Injuries (non-fatal)	4 (all)
Survivors	4 (all)
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F
Operator	Federal Express
Registration	N306FE
Flight origin	Memphis International Airport Memphis, Tennessee
Destination	San Jose International Airport San Jose, California

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 nearly hijacked by Auburn Calloway, who the prosecution argued was attempting to commit suicide. Calloway, a Federal Express employee, was facing possible dismissal for lying about his flight hours. He boarded the scheduled flight as a deadhead passenger carrying a guitar case concealing several hammers and a speargun. He intended to switch off the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder before take-off and, once airborne, kill the crew with hammers so their injuries would appear consistent with an accident rather than a hijacking. However, the CVR 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.

Calloway attempted to claim he was mentally ill during his trial, but was unsuccessful. He was convicted of multiple charges, including attempted murder, attempted air piracy, and interference with flight crew operations. He received two consecutive life sentences. Calloway successfully appealed the conviction for interference, which was ruled to be a lesser offense of attempted air piracy.

The 42-year-old Federal Express flight engineer Auburn Calloway, an alumnus of Stanford University and a former Navy pilot and martial arts expert, faced dismissal over falsifying of flight hours. In order to disguise the hijacking as an accident, so his family would benefit from his $2.5 million life insurance policy, Calloway intended to murder the flight crew using blunt force. To accomplish this, he brought aboard two claw hammers, two club hammers, a speargun, and a knife (which was not used) concealed inside a guitar case. Just before the flight, Calloway had transferred over $54,000 in securities and cashier's checks to his ex-wife. He also carried a note aboard, written to her and "describing the author's apparent despair".