The lead characters are ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, founder of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the organisation's primary vehicles: the Thunderbird machines.
When Penelope finds that Lemaire's office has been filmed from a nearby rooftop and extensively bugged, presumably by industrial spies, she proposes that the venue be changed to Skythrust, which will be travelling from Paris to London for its maiden flight.
Skythrust takes off from Paris and Lemaire begins his show, with Penelope and two house models, Deirdre and Madeline, sporting various Penelon outfits to an enthusiastic response from a group of buyers.
Virgil and Alan fly into the plane's path in an attempt to force the hijackers' surrender, but Madeline is undeterred and threatens to shoot Ashton, giving them no choice but to back down.
Reaching the airport, Skythrust hits the runway hard and catches fire, prompting the pilots to activate the special feature that Brains designed: an ejectable fuel tank, which the control tower remote-detonates in mid-air to prevent an explosion on the ground.
[8] Rating "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker" three out of five, Tom Fox of Starburst magazine considers its "fashion espionage" premise entertaining and calls the episode one of Thunderbirds' "most light-hearted" instalments.
[9] In her 1991 autobiography, Sylvia Anderson wrote that the episode "blends adventure with feminine charm and style"; she also thought its story about aircraft hijacking to be quite topical, as at the time Thunderbirds was made this was still a "newly acquired threat".
[12] McGown argues that the plot should appeal to boys and girls alike, calling its combination of fashion and aviation themes a "perfect example of the show's cross-gender strategy".