Richard Wilches is the pilot of Aerobolivar Flight 601, the flight that gets hijacked in The Hijacking of Flight 601. Christian Tappan plays Wilches.
Richard Wilches comes across as a self-important man but also someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.
It is his duty to ensure the safety of the passengers, and he does everything in his power to fulfill that responsibility, even if it means defying the hijackers.
He discreetly requests the airline to send a reliable attendant without alerting the hijackers, which proves to be a wise decision.
Edie and Bárbara, the attendants who are sent, work with Wilches in their efforts to outsmart the hijackers.
Unafraid of the hijackers, Wilches is determined to survive, and he encourages the crew to have the same resolve.
A man with a simplistic understanding
Like the hijackers, Wilches grew up in poverty. His parents had too many children and too little money.
However, that hunger only drove him to work hard and earn money. Wilches pursued his dream of becoming a pilot with determination, and he succeeded.
He cannot see eye to eye with the hijackers, who turn to crime to escape poverty. Wilches is quick to condemn their actions.
His simplistic understanding of the world prevents him from recognizing that sometimes, despite hard work, people may still face failure, as in the case of the hijackers.
Even when his judgments aggravate the hijackers, he does not back down, which ultimately leads to him being attacked by them.
An unworthy hero
Eventually, he comes up with a plan to take down the hijackers. While his plan fails, most of the passengers are able to escape because of it.
The hijackers then force Wilches to fly out of Colombia after the passengers’ escape. While they are running out of fuel, all the countries they fly over refuse to let them land.
Wilches then makes a bold decision and executes a difficult landing in Peru despite their refusal and obstructions.
As a result, the Peruvian authorities provide them with fuel and ask them to leave the country. The hijackers then demand that Wilches take them to a desert.
Knowing that landing there is nearly impossible, Wilches decides to fly them to Bogotá without informing the hijackers.
Wilches is warned that the military is waiting for them at Bogotá airport, but he still does not change his mind, despite knowing that he is risking the lives of everyone onboard.
Edie pleads with him not to put their lives at risk, but Wilches stubbornly refuses, even when a hijacker threatens to blow up the plane.
This is when the rest of the crew turns against Wilches. Edie stabs him, leaving him unable to fly the plane and leading to his co-pilot taking his place.
Edie also convinces the hijackers to take Wilches hostage instead of herself and Bárbara. Edie plans to tell the authorities that Wilches offered to go with the hijackers.
She is going to claim that it was Wilches who allowed the hijackers to escape in exchange for his crew’s lives and that he willingly went with them as a guarantee that the crew would not reveal their whereabouts.
Edie’s story will turn Wilches into a hero, but regardless of what Edie says, Wilches is determined to expose her once he is freed.
The hijackers take Wilches but spare his life. He returns home safely and chooses to embrace his role as a hero instead of being seen as a coward who cheated his crew.
The world views him as a hero, unaware of the truth. Wilches is rewarded for his bravery, with only the crew aware of his true nature.
Also Read: Bárbara Gallo: The Hijacking of Flight 601 character explained