Who was the first pilot to be hijacked?

• A. D.B. Cooper
• B. Hugh Montgomery
• C. Byron Rickards
• D. Amelia Earhart

Answer: (C)

This question tests knowledge of the earliest airplane hijackings and who was actually the victim in those first cases. Byron Rickards is identified in historical records as the first pilot to be hijacked, making his incident the earliest known example of an aircraft hijacking. This matters because it marks the beginning of the pattern of taking control of a flight from the cockpit, which led to the security changes that followed.

Why the others don’t fit: Amelia Earhart is famous for her disappearance, not a hijacking. D.B. Cooper is the notorious hijacker from a later incident, not the pilot who was hijacked. Hugh Montgomery isn’t linked to the earliest hijackings in the same way. So Byron Rickards best fits the idea of the first pilot to be hijacked.