Hijacked Boeing 737 plane

On October 2, 1990, a Boeing 737 jet was hijacked at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, killing 128 and injuring others. The pilot lost control of the plane while wrestling with the hijacker, causing the plane to sideswipe a parked Boeing 707 before crashing into a Boeing 757 on the airport runway. All three planes were destroyed in the accident.

The incident made headlines in the ''Southern Weekend'', and the Guangzhou-based paper published an editorial discussing anti-terrorism. The article said "both our mindset and emergency measures in the face of aircraft hijackings must change. In the past we encouraged aircraft crew to fight with hijackers and not give in till the end, but the accident proved that face-to-face struggle is not a wise option. Only after the tragedy has the safety of the passengers become the top concern during aircraft hijackings. The aircraft crew and passengers are no longer encouraged to fight with the hijackers, in line with international practice."

But this practice got challenged on September 11, 2001, when terrorists steered two planes into the Twin Towers. Some experts say that what should be more important when a plane hijacking occurs – to save the lives on the plane or to stop terrorism in time – has become somewhat of a paradox.