1972 Skyjacker Held in New Piracy Plot

A former member of the Black Panther Party who hijacked an airliner to Algeria in 1972 has been arrested in an alleged plot to hijack another passenger jet with the use of plastic explosives. Willie Holder, 42 and unemployed, was arrested two weeks ago in an apartment that he shared with his wife and brother. His first court appearance was Tuesday.

Although he was under investigation for planning a hijacking, Holder was instead charged with violating his federal parole. Federal prosecutors in New York, where Holder had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of air piracy, will decide when or if to pursue charges connected to the alleged hijacking plot.

On June 2, 1972, Holder and Catherine Marie Kerkow hijacked a Western Airlines jet from Seattle and forced it to fly to Algeria. In the latest case, Holder allegedly asked an undercover agent from the California Bureau of Organized Crime and Criminal Intelligence to help him obtain C-4 plastic explosives and various firearms and ammunition. He was introduced to the agent by an informant. Law enforcement officials said that Holder intended to hijack a passenger jet at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field and demand “millions in ransom.”