Hijacking in the sky: “Cheater” Bella relives the infamous day 30 years later

Wednesday marks 30 years since an El Paso pilot said he had a gun held to his head while he was flying a helicopter.

It sounds like the beginning of an action-packed blockbuster but it’s not. Although, it did get attention from Hollywood, Charles “Cheater” Bella said that’s exactly what happened July 11, 1988.

A day that changed the life of someone who could very well be deemed El Paso’s most interesting man.

Bella said a woman hired him to fly her around New Mexico to scope out real estate, but once the two were in the sky the flight spiraled into terror.

With a gun pressed against his head, Bella said the woman demanded he fly to the New Mexico State Penitentiary, and land in the courtyard.

Her plan: To help three inmates escape.

“It was a pretty tough day,” Bella told ABC-7 in a 1998 interview.

The plan was botched, and he was tried as a conspirator in the escape attempt.

Bella was acquitted, but the fury over standing trial stayed with him.

“Their big conspiracy was to make it look like I was a willing participant,” Bella said. “So the public wouldn’t be aware that this could happen on any given day.”

He may have been cleared in court, but Bella said he still felt the court of public opinion found him guilty.

His reputation was tarnished, as was his high-paying career as a private pilot.

The Bellas went back to their normal routine, and kept busy rehabilitating wild animals like alligators, tigers and bears.

His plan was to recover. If he couldn’t, at least he could help animals.