Posted: Thursday, June 12, 2025. 6:21 pm CST.
Photo Credit: WGRZ-TV/Channel 7 News
By Aaron Humes: Howell Grange, the courageous Tropic Air captain who in April led passengers through a shocking mid-air hijacking that left him fighting for his life, is currently undergoing rehabilitation in Western New York, where he is being treated for sciatica and other complications. Grange is close to walking normally again thanks to the dedicated care of Buffalo-area medical professionals.
Per WGRZ-TV, the NBC affiliate in Buffalo, New York, Grange is now at Universal Chiropractic in West Seneca, following an intensive two-week recovery program that includes daily chiropractic sessions and physical therapy. His treatment incorporates innovative techniques, including the use of a spinal decompression table, which lead physician Dr. Richard Ziarkowski believes will significantly aid in Grange’s recovery.
Grange is reportedly at 95 percent of his mobility and function, and doctors are optimistic about his full recovery. Though the scars of the experience remain, Grange is filled with gratitude for a second chance at life.
Grange was piloting a routine flight from Corozal Town to San Pedro on Holy Thursday, April 17, with 16 individuals on board when passenger Akinyela Taylor, an American citizen, suddenly brandished a knife and demanded that Grange fly him to the United States. Grange thought quickly, setting out over a southerly and easterly course while speaking in Spanish to air traffic control to fool Taylor into thinking he was heading into Mexico.
It did not prevent Taylor from stabbing the pilot multiple times in his back, arm, and temple, but Grange landed the aircraft at the Philip Goldson International Airport without incident and a brave fellow passenger, armed with a legally owned firearm, intervened and shot the assailant, effectively ending the hijacking attempt.
Despite the trauma he endured, Grange expresses profound forgiveness toward his attacker. “If it ever gets back to the family, I forgive him. Everybody has a tough day. So apparently, he had a few tough days. I don’t know what was going through his mind,” Grange reflected to WGRZ. “I think he was trying to get home. It wasn’t the best day, but it happened.”
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The post Heroic Belizean pilot recovers in New York after surviving harrowing mid-air hijacking appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Thursday, June 12, 2025. 6:21 pm CST. Photo Credit: WGRZ-TV/Channel 7 News By Aaron Humes: Howell Grange, the courageous Tropic Air captain who in April
The post Heroic Belizean pilot recovers in New York after surviving harrowing mid-air hijacking appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
