Rio Airways aircraft hijacked to Mexico

February 16, 1983

A Rio Airways jetliner was hijacked and diverted from Texas to Mexico, airline officials said. Mark Connell, vice-chairman and chief executive officer of the airline, said the plane, carrying 17 passengers and a crew of five, was flying from Killeen, Texas, to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport when it was taken over and ordered to fly to Nuevo Laredo, the Mexican city just across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas.