1968 – Three Cuban exiles hijacked a National Airlines DC-8 Flight 28 from Tampa to Miami on this date. Five minutes into the flight the men pulled out pistols and shouted, “Havana, Havana,” forcing the pilots to divert their route from Miami to Cuba. Between the years 1968 and 1972 dozens of flights from Florida to Cuba and vice versa were hijacked for reasons variously attributed to terrorism, political asylum, extortion, Americans fugitives fleeing law enforcement, and simply transportation between the two counties at a time of heightened political tensions. No one aboard the National Airlines Flight 28 were harmed and as was standard policy during this period, the flight crew and passengers, less the three hijackers, were allowed to refuel and return to Florida shortly after landing in Havana.