Montana history from 1971

An Air Canada DC-8 airliner with 118 people aboard was hijacked high above Saskatchewan and diverted to Great Falls on Friday night. The hijacker demanded $1.5 million or he said he would start shooting passengers. The hijacker took control of the aircraft at about 6 p.m. Montana time and the flight landed in Great Falls at approximately 7:30 p.m. A Great Falls policewoman came out to the airplane to deliver the money as the hijacker had demanded. The flight then left Great Falls and headed to Phoenix. The hijacker abruptly demanded that the flight return to Great Falls. On the second stop to Great Falls all passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft. The hijacker then had the plane flown to Calgary.

By most accounts this was the only hijacking involving a Montana airport. When this hijacker was apprehended in Calgary, he had three guns with him and a stick of dynamite. It also turned out that the money paid to the hijacker was actually only $50,000, substantially less than he had demanded.