Hijacking
Hijack is a verb originally meaning to stop and rob, or seize control of a moving vehicle. The definition has been expanded to include aircraft (sometimes known as skyjacking).[1] For ships, piracy is still the generally accepted term.
While most cases of hijacking or piracy are for common theft, skyjacking usually involves a political element. In most cases skyjacking involves holding the crew and/or passengers as hostages in order to force a government to make some politcal concessions, such as the release of certain high-profile prisoners. Other skyjackers have forcibly taken control of aircraft to escape from repressive regimes. The most notable skyjacking events were the September 11, 2001 attacks, when four aircraft were seized and used as weapons against the United States of America.
Hijacking may also refers to types of swindle or extortion, particularly on the internet where domains and IP addresses may be usurped from their rightful owners, or surfers are directed to bogus addresses.