The Hezbollah Conflict and Aviation History: TWA Flight 847
Personally, I am so burned out on hearing about the middle-East not being able to get along. Obviously we need to fight for those that died on 9/11, but besides that, I don’t know why we even get involved anymore. I wasn’t overly interested until I read about an incident with an American airliner that occurred due to Hezbollah.
The Boeing 727-231A jet, N64339, that would become TWA Flight 847 on June 14, 1985. It was delivered in September 1974 and was laid to rest, for scrapping, in 2002.
Sources: Frank C. Duarte Jr., airliners.net (photo), planespotter.org (information).
On June 14, 1985, TWA Flight 847, a Boeing 727 carrying 153 passengers from Athens to Rome was hijacked by two men wearing ski masks. The hijackers were part of the Organization for the Oppressed of the Earth and were somehow related to Hezbollah. They were able to smuggle pistols and grenades through airport security.
Ironically, the third hijacker was bumped off the flight by the airline.
Timeline
- 10:10am TWA847 departs Athens.
- Flight hijacked by two Lebanese men.
- Hijackers ordered captain to divert to Beirut, 19 passengers released in exchange for fuel.
- Afternoon: jet departed Beirut and arrived in Algiers, Algeria. 20 passengers released.
- Night: 727 leaves Algiers and returns to Beirut.
- Robert Stethem, a U.S. Navy diver murdered on jet.
- Passengers with Jewish names taken off the plane, but not released.
- A dozen more hijackers board the flight.
- June 15: 727 returns to Algiers; 65 passengers released (48 remain).
- June 16: flight retuns and remains in Beirut.
- June 17: Most hostages deplaned and taken to a secure location.
- One passenger released due to heart trouble.
- June 30: The 39 remaining hostages released, driven to Syria, boarded USAF jet, flew to West Germany.
A Hero Emerges
Uli Derickson, one of the flight attendants, spoke German and was able to translate the hijackers’ commands. In Algiers, airport officials would not refuel the 727 without being paid. Uli charged close to $6,000 of fuel to her Shell Oil card. She also hid the passports of Jewish passengers. TWA later reimbursed her for the cost of the fuel.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_847
Uli left airplane with other (very helpful) stewardesses in Algeria after first day of 17-day ordeal. Her credit card intrusion disrupted the flight crew’s move to keep the airplane on the ground, thus putting many lives in jeaprody for three more flights across the Mediterranean. The second time into Beirut added many more Hezbollah and weapons. Only three cockpit crewmembers were with the passengers. Everyone would probably die if the plane went down over the sea due to on-board, skin-rupturing explosion. It finally was grounded by the crew in Beirut, but Uli was long gone. Seventeen days later, Reagan secured the release of all the hostages and three pilots. Uli did her job well, but so did the other attendants. (Could never understand the media’s focus and rush.)
Comment by B.C.Zimmermann — Thursday, November 23, 2006 @ 10:27 pm
Ku Klux Klan was renounced by Christians. Hezbollah has never been renounced by Islam.
Comment by reader — Thursday, November 23, 2006 @ 10:36 pm