US hijacker is captured in Portugal after 41 years

A 1970s militant who carried out one of the most brazen airplane hijackings in US history lived for decades in a Portuguese hamlet with his wife and two children, neighbours said.

George Wright, 68, was taken into custody on Monday at the request of the US government, which is seeking his extradition for escaping from a New Jersey jail after being convicted of killing a gas station attendant.

The Portuguese news agency Lusa, citing unnamed police sources, reported the former Black Liberation Army (BLA) member plans to fight any extradition.