The Young Hippies Who Hijacked a Plane

In May 1972, two broke twenty-something lovebirds named Kathy and Roger hijacked a Western Airlines flight out of Los Angeles. They demanded $3 million, five parachutes, and the release of Angela Davis from prison. Their plan was to fly to North Vietnam, donate half the ransom to the Viet Cong as an apology for Roger’s three tours of duty there, then settle in Australia with the remaining $1.5 million. None of it went the way they imagined. By the time the plane finally landed in Algeria, they had lost the money, been rejected by Angela Davis herself, and become the subjects of a story that would outlast their relationship, their sanity, and in Kathy’s case, her entire existence.

The Making of a Revolutionary Fantasy

Roger Holder was 22, handsome, and deeply unsettled. He had served three tours in Vietnam and received an undesirable discharge. He had two children with another woman, but he saw his relationship with 20-year-old Kathy Kerkow as something destined for greatness. Kathy was adrift—she had dropped out of college, struggled to hold jobs, and considered herself an activist after attending a single Black Panther rally, partly because she liked the leather jackets and knew it would upset her family. They lived in San Diego, could barely make rent, but saw themselves not as losers but as victims of the capitalist machine.