The Hijacking of Flight 601 Ending Explained: What Happened to the Hijackers, Crew and Passengers?
One of the longest air hijackings in the history of Latin America inspired The Hijacking of Flight 601, a Colombian Netflix series created and directed by Pablo González and Camilo Prince. When two men take over a flight with 43 passengers, the co-pilots and the small crew try to remain calm to avoid bloodshed. But the result does not only depend on them since the kidnappers demand a large ransom and political concessions from the Colombian authorities. What is the outcome? Next, I’ll tell you what happened to each protagonist of the six-episode drama. After a chaotic morning at home, flight attendant Edilma Pérez (Mónica Lopera) misses Aerobolivar flight 601, resulting in her imminent dismissal.
However, an unlikely event offers him a chance for redemption: Borja (Valentín Villafañe) and El Toro (Alian Devetac) break into the cabin and hijack the aircraft with 43 passengers and a rookie stewardess, Marisol (Ilena Antonini). Engineer Pirateque (Enrique Carriazo), the airline manager, and Manchola (Marcela Benjumea), the head of the flight attendants, are unsure about sending Edie, but she has no other option. When the plane briefly stops to refuel with the necessary fuel to reach Cuba, experienced flight attendants Edilma and Bárbara Gallo (Ángela Cano) board. Meanwhile, the board of directors of Aerobolivar meets to agree on how to handle the crisis. Pirateque is in charge of negotiating with the kidnappers, who present themselves as revolutionaries and ask for $200,000 in cash and for the Colombian government to release dozens of political prisoners.
The Hijacking of Flight 601 Ending Explained: The Story Plot
On May 30, 1973, flight HK-1274 of the Sociedad Aeronáutica de Medellín, SAM, which covered the Bogotá-Cali-Pereira route, and had 84 people on board, became the scene of a tense odyssey that lasted 55 hours and toured several Latin American countries. It all started when two armed men who identified themselves as members of the ELN (National Liberation Army of Colombia) announced that they had hijacked the plane. The initial destination requested by the kidnappers was Aruba, where they landed that same afternoon. The criminals demanded a ransom of 200 thousand dollars and the release of political prisoners in Colombia. However, their requests were not met: the Colombian government refused to negotiate, while the airline responded that it only had a $20,000 budget.
Despite the tension, the kidnappers agreed to release a group of cyclists in Aruba who were going to participate in the RCN Classic. After the authorities in question refused, the criminals decided to extend their crime for as long as possible, forcing those in charge of flight HK-1274 to travel to other Latin American countries. However, no airport permitted them to land, so they spent hours in the air. In the few stops they managed to make, several passengers managed to escape. Ultimately, the kidnappers freed 14 of the 23 remaining passengers in Chile. The kidnapping ended in Mendoza, Argentina, where the last passengers were released after 55 hours of kidnapping. Only the crew and the kidnappers remained on board, who were identified five days after the kidnapping as Eusebio Borja and Francisco Solano López. The surprise that the crew and the authorities received was that the men in question were not members of the ELN, nor even Colombians. In reality, they were two Paraguayan soccer players who lived in Pereira and were looking to make money.
The Hijacking of Flight 601 Ending Explained: What Happened to the Hijackers, Crew, and Passengers?
The architects of The Hijacking of Flight 601 order pilot Richard Wilches (Christian Tappan) to land in Aruba, where they plan to hold them hostage until their demands are met. Pirateque tries to get the money but seeing that his superiors have no intention of negotiating, he notifies a well-known reporter “Francisco” El Flaco “Marulanda” (Carlos Manuel Vesga), who takes his cameras to the place and records what happened. Edie takes advantage of the media attention to make everyone believe that one of the passengers has gone into labor, putting pressure on everyone to act quickly. Pirateque reaches an agreement with Borja, announces that the airline will pay the ransom, and gets the women and children released. However, the government announces that it will not negotiate with revolutionaries and declares that those who do not do so will be committing a crime. Pirateque reports what happened to Borja, who to show that he is not joking chooses a passenger, takes him to the other end of the aircraft, and shoots him.
Panic sets in, so Edie and Barbara devise a new plan: drug the hijackers with a passenger’s sleeping pills and escape through the bottom of the plane. Everything is going well until Borja and Toro use cocaine to stay awake. Despite the fear, the crew and passengers organize to escape. Commander Richard Wilches is in charge of giving the signal but is delayed because he cannot free himself from the handcuffs. When he finally succeeds, Pirateque appears with the promised money. Barbara is sent to collect the ransom, but she returns with only a portion and with the indication that she will hand over the rest as the hostages are freed. Borja and Toro celebrate their victory and begin to choose who will go down first. However, Wilches does not seem happy with the outcome of the story and activates the signal, causing the passengers to rise against the kidnappers. Amid the chaos, Edie indicates the exit to the passengers, who leave in despair. When it is the stewardess’s turn to leave, Toro grabs her and orders the pilot to take off in an unknown direction.
What is the True Story of Borja y Toro?
The fourth episode of Hijacking of Flight 601 focuses on the story of Borja and Toro, two Paraguayan soccer players who try to succeed in sports with the help of Don Pacho. Toro’s big opportunity comes when Cali’s first division soccer club, La Gloriosa, arrives looking for new talent. But Pacho demands that he pay his debt if he wants to play, and Borja offers to get the money. During the night, he visits a nearby bar and agrees to sleep with Checho. Before leaving with his payment, Borja reads some revolutionary texts that arouse his curiosity. Despite Borja’s sacrifices, Toro is unable to demonstrate his talent due to a serious foot injury. Upon confirming that Toro will not be able to play professionally again, Don Pacho expels them and keeps their passports.
Without the possibility of returning home and not knowing where to go, both friends turn to Checho, who offers help to recover his documents and teach a lesson to the coach who mistreated them for years. After breaking into the austere soccer academy, Checho gives a revolutionary speech and threatens to kill Pacho if he continues with his business. Borja and Toro stay at Checho’s house for a while and begin to learn about his ideology. One of those days, the idea arises of posing as guerrillas and hijacking a plane. Before carrying out the plan, Checho shoots himself in the head by mistake.
Why Does Everything Threaten to Kill Everyone?
When Flight 601 is back at cruising altitude, Commander Wilches attempts to land at several locations, but no airport gives him clearance. With fuel reserves at a minimum, the pilot makes an emergency landing in Lima, Peru, where they are not well received. After a shootout in which Toro is wounded, the police officers offer to bring the tanks so they can continue on their way. Edie saves Tonto’s life by stopping the bleeding, something the kidnapper thanks by threatening to blow up a grenade if they don’t do what he wants. Toro’s lack of control is due to the pressure of feeling cornered by the police and the betrayal of Borja, who instead of murdering one of the passengers, hid him. Meanwhile, Wilches takes advantage of the commotion to change course to Bogotá, where the military is waiting for them. Chavarriaga asks Aristides to give false testimony, but he rebels and informs the crew of the government’s plans. Edie asks the pilot to change direction and try to land in the desert as the kidnappers want, but Wilches won’t listen to reason, so the stewardess stabs him in the leg to make him rectify it.
What Happened to Borja and Toro?
In the last episode of The Hijacking of Flight 601, the plane finally lands in El Dorado, and Edie, Barbara, co-pilot Lequerica, and the rest of the hostage passengers are freed. However, there is no trace of the kidnappers and the pilot. Where are they? That is precisely what Chavarriaga wants to know, who pressures Edie to tell the truth. The stewardess explains that Commander Wilches demonstrated his bravery by making a deal with the hijackers for the sake of the passengers. Before arriving in Bogotá, the plane landed in another place, where Borja, Toro, and the pilot got off, who would be released if the flight crew remained silent for 72 hours. Edie insists that it is for the pilot’s safety, but Chavarriaga threatens to take her children away from her, so she agrees to talk on the condition that nothing is leaked to the press. At that moment, Wilches appears, confirms the testimonies of his companions, and becomes a national hero. At the end of The Hijacking of Flight 601, Edie returns to her children, Barbara decides to accept her real name and stop pretending to please others, Pirateque pleads guilty and is sentenced to seven months in prison, Tonto returns to his town and distributes the money he got and is arrested, while Borja moves to Brazil.
