The FedEx base in Memphis, Tennesee is preparing for another unspectacular day of business. “They were in a fight for their lives from the moment they were attacked. Sanders communicated with ATC, deactivated the auto pilot, and prepared for an emergency landing.Complaining that he could not breathe, Calloway started fighting with the crew again. The aircraft is full of electrical equipment that would be distributed to the companies of the burgeoning Silicon Valley. Attempts to reach the crew members of Flight 705 were unsuccessful.Tucker tipped the plane’s nose up, sending the fighters back, before turning the plane almost upside-down and sending it into a deep dive, as shown in a 2018 simulation of the flight. “What Jim did with that plane, I still can’t believe.”“Sit down, sit down, get back in your seat, this is a real gun, I’ll kill ya,” Calloway said, per the transcript.Takeoff for the DC-10 proceeded as normal, with a relaxed conversation flowing among crew members, according to a cockpit recording transcript from tailstrike.com.“The company began investigating irregularities in the reporting of Mr. Calloway's flight hours, and he was directed to appear at a hearing scheduled for April 8, 1994, in Memphis, Tennessee,” Nelson wrote in his decision.But there was no guarantee FedEx was going to cut ties with Calloway.Twenty-five years after three crew members of Federal Express Flight 705 withstood an attempted hijacking, the plane containing that chaotic fight for survival still flies for FedEx regularly.What happened on that flight has been the subject of a TV episode, its own book and high honors for its crew: Capt. … But the crew knew immediately their situation was different, Hirschman said.After more fighting, Sanders began piloting the plane to land it on a Memphis runway while communicating with the Memphis Air Traffic Control Tower.“Andy (Peterson) grabs the speargun, which I really admire him for doing, and pushes (Calloway) out the crew door, and the fight is on in the back,” said Mark Lombardo, a 727 airplane captain at FedEx then who had flown with Calloway before.“Calloway had disenfranchised so many of his contemporaries that it was kind of like, we’re glad that good versus evil prevailed,” Lombardo said.“They way that they’ve found a new purpose for their lives and at the same time have this bond and respect for each other — it all just reflects the best of human nature,” he said.As Peterson and Sanders wrestled to get Calloway under control, Tucker alerted the Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center to what was happening. Peterson and Sanders got out of their seats.The whole crew ultimately recovered while handling the burdens of the attack in their own way, Hirschman said.Tucker eventually returned the plane back to its regular position and called the control center to set up an ambulance and “armed intervention” for when they landed, per the transcript.There was also no guarantee the Flight 705 crew was going to prevail in their fight with Calloway. “Even that would not have gotten him fired, to be honest with you. “He was motivated to do maximum harm to FedEx.”“Make no mistake about it: It could have gone either way, and that is the absolute truth,” he said.Calloway may have had a better chance at overpowering the flight’s original crew: one man and one woman. The scheduled three-man flight crew consisted of 49-year-old Captain David Sanders, 42-year-old First Officer James Tucker, and 39-year-old Flight Engineer Andrew Peterson. Peterson and Tucker stayed on Calloway.“I personally think that was (Calloway's) ultimate goal, but he's the only one who knows,” said Dave Hirschman, author of "Hijacked: The True Story of the Heroes of Flight 705" and a former reporter for The Commercial Appeal. All of us have flown that airplane.”Tucker, Sanders and Peterson all assumed Calloway was just an employee hitching a ride, a “jump-seater” in industry parlance.FedEx declined comment for this story. Aboard flight 705 Tucker assumed the role of first officer. David Sanders, first officer Jim Tucker and flight engineer Andy Peterson.None could fly a commercial jet after the head injuries they received, The Commercial Appeal reported in 2007.
Federal Express Flight 705: 5 October 2005 () On 7 April 1994, Auburn Calloway, a disgruntled employee, attempts to hijack Federal Express Flight 705 armed with hammers and a speargun. Flight 705, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, is preparing to make the six-hour flight bound for San Jose, California.