PTL, TWA, and a hollerin contest?: This week in Charlotte news history WSOC TV [Video]

CHARLOTTE — Decades of Charlotte’s stories are in the Channel 9 archives, and we get glimpses of our past when we dig through them.

Whether you remember them or heard about them from a family member, take a look back on the news from this week in Charlotte’s history.

The downfall of PTL

Televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker grew a national following for years as they led The PTL Club. But in 1987, the Christian media empire began to unravel.

Finance and sex scandals forced Jim to resign, and the Bakkers had to file for bankruptcy.

The Bakkers handed over control to Jerry Falwell as the scandal played out publicly over the next two years.

TWA hijacking

It was this week in 1985 when hijackers took control of a Trans World Airlines flight from Athens to Rome with 85 Americans on board.

The hijackers demanded the release of hundreds of Muslim prisoners.

One victim was …