On February 3, 1969, Funt, his wife, and his two youngest children boarded Eastern Airlines Flight 7 in Newark, New Jersey, with a destination of Miami, Florida. En route, two men hijacked the plane and demanded passage to Cuba. Some of the passengers, having spotted Funt, believed the whole thing was a Candid Camera stunt.[13] Funt repeatedly attempted to persuade them the hijacking was real, to no avail. The plane landed in Cuba, finally convincing the passengers.[4] Funt and the other passengers were released after 11 hours of captivity.[13]
