TWA Flight 847 was a regularly scheduled

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

flight from

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San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

with en route stops in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. On the morning of June 14, 1985, Flight 847 was hijacked soon after take off from Athens. The

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

hijackers demanded the release of 700

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Muslims from Israeli custody and took the plane repeatedly to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

.Smith, William E. June 24, 2001
Terror Aboard Flight 847
''TIME Magazine.'' Retrieved: 24 November 2012. Later

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

analysis confirmed them members of

, an allegation Hezbollah rejects. The hijacking and subsequent hostage situation played out over the course of 17 days, during which the aircraft crisscrossed the Mediterranean. At the same time many passengers were tied up and beaten and those with Jewish-sounding names were separated from the others.

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

diver Robert Stethem was murdered, and his body was thrown onto the

airport apron The airport apron, apron, flight line, or ramp is the area of an airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled, boarded, or maintained. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it ...

. The ordeal finally ended after some of the hijacker's demands were met and they agreed to release their hostages. Many believed that because of the lawless nature of Lebanon at the time the captors would go without punishment.

Hijacking events

''All times are in Algiers time unless otherwise noted'' Flight 847 was operated with a Boeing 727–200, registration The flight originated in Cairo on the morning of June 14.

Day one

After an uneventful flight from Cairo to Athens, a new crew boarded Flight 847. The new crew in Athens were Captain John Testrake, First Officer Phil Maresca, Flight Engineer Christian Zimmerman, flight service manager Uli Derickson, and flight attendants Judy Cox, Hazel Hesp, Elizabeth Howes, and Helen Sheahan.See ''Hostage in a Hostage World: Hope aboard Hijacked TWA 847'' (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1985) for Zimmermann's account of this experience.

10:10 a.m.

Flight 847 departs Athens for Rome. It was hijacked soon after takeoff by two

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

-speaking Lebanese men who had smuggled a pistol and two

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s through the Athens airport security. One was identified later as Mohammed Ali Hammadi, who was eventually captured and sentenced to life imprisonment in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Hamadi is an alleged member of Hezbollah. The hijackers assaulted Derickson, dragged her by her hair and breached the cockpit and proceeded to attack and pistol-whip Testrake, Maresca, and Zimmerman. While still in Greek airspace and with Captain Testrake being held at gunpoint, the hijackers forced the airplane to divert from its original destination of Rome, to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

11:57 a.m.

The now hijacked plane made its first stop, at the Beirut International Airport in Lebanon. Shortly before they were allowed to land Captain Testrake argued with air traffic control, who initially refused to let them land in Beirut, until they relented. When Beirut air traffic control tried to talk to the hijackers, Testrake interrupted, "He has pulled a hand-grenade pin and he is ready to blow up the aircraft if he has to. We must, I repeat, we must land at Beirut. We must land at Beirut. No alternative." They remained in Beirut for several hours where 19 passengers were allowed to leave in exchange for fuel. At the time, Lebanon was in the midst of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, and Beirut was divided into sectors controlled by different Shia Amal militia and Hezbollah. The aircraft departed Beirut at 1:30 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

After crossing the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

the aircraft arrived at Algiers International Airport in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. During their five-hour stop in Algiers the hijackers issued their demands, which included: *Release of the "Kuwait 17", those involved in the 1983 bombings of the U.S. embassy in Kuwait * Release of all 766 mainly Lebanese Shias transferred to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's Atleat Prison in conjunction with immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern LebanonRanstorp, Magnus, ''Hizb'allah in Lebanon: The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis'', New York, St. Martins Press, 1997, p. 95. * International condemnation of Israel and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 21 passengers were released before heading back to Beirut at 8:25 that night.

Day two

Beirut International Airport was surrounded by a

neighborhood. It had no perimeter security and had been overrun by Islamist militias, and nearby residents could simply drive onto the runway.

2:20 a.m.

The aircraft arrives in Beirut for the second time. The hijackers had systematically and regularly beaten all the military passengers, but during this stop, they selected U.S. Navy diver, Robert Stethem, beat him, shot him in the right temple, and dumped his body out of the plane onto the ramp and shot him again.^† During the stopover seven American passengers, alleged to have Jewish-sounding surnames, were taken off the jet and kept captive in a Shia prison in Beirut, while an additional dozen or so terrorists boarded the flight. The airplane then departed Beirut at 5:40 a.m.

7:50 a.m.

Flight 847 returns to Algiers where it will spend twenty-five hours on the ground. Algerian officials boarded the plane to begin negotiations with the terrorists. The terrorists released three hostages from the aircraft shortly after landing. The

Greek government The Government of Greece (Greek language, Greek: Κυβέρνηση της Ελλάδας), officially the Government of the Hellenic Republic (Κυβέρνηση της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας) is the collective body of the Gre ...

also released an accomplice to the hijackers, Ali Atwa, who was flown to Algiers. In exchange the hijackers released eight Greek citizens, including Greek popular singer

Demis Roussos Artemios "Demis" Ventouris-Roussos ( ; , ; 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015) was a Greek-Egyptian singer, songwriter and musician. As a band member, he is best remembered for his work in the progressive rock music act Aphrodite's Child, but as a ...

, to be flown by a Greek government business jet from Algiers back to Athens. All in all 66 hostages, 61 passengers and all 5 female cabin crew members were released in Algiers.

Day three

12:45 p.m.

The aircraft arrives in Beirut, where it would remain for the remainder of the crisis. After landing the remaining 29 passengers are removed from the plane and kept captive in Beirut

Days four through seventeen

By the afternoon of June 17, the 40 hostages remaining had been taken from the airplane and kept captive throughout Beirut by Hezbollah. Nabih Berri was the chief of the Amal militia and the minister of justice in the fractured Lebanon cabinet. One of the hostages was released on 26 June when he developed heart trouble. The other 39 remained captive until June 30 when they were collected in a local schoolyard after an intervention by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

along with Lebanese officials. The intervention involved a settlement negotiated by Abraham Sofaer, the Legal Advisor to Reagan's State Department, in which the hostages were released in exchange for Israeli release of Lebanese prisoners. Sofaer argued that this action did not constitute acquiescence to the terrorist's demands because the U.S had objected to Israel’s imprisonment of Lebanese prisoners prior to the incident. The released hostages then met with international journalists and were driven to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

by the International Red Cross to the Sheraton Hotel and a press conference in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. The hostages then boarded a U.S. Air Force C-141B Starlifter cargo plane and flew to Rhein-Main AB,

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, where they were met by U.S. Vice President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, debriefed, given medical examinations, then flown to

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and welcomed home by the president. Over the next several weeks, Israel released over 700 Shia prisoners, while maintaining that the prisoners' release was not related to the hijacking.

Aftermath

TWA Flight 847 Captain John Testrake with hijacker in Beirut

A famous image of this hijacking was a photograph showing a gun being held near Captain Testrake, sticking out of the cockpit window, while he and the other pilots were being interviewed by

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

reporter Charles Glass. The scene was interrupted by one of the French-speaking Hezbollah guards left by the hijackers to hold the crew after most passengers and the cabin crew had been released in Algiers, and the remaining men were held in captivity elsewhere in Beirut. The young militiaman may have unloaded the gun before entering the scene, as he primarily wanted to be on television.Terror Mastermind's deception cause for skepticism
''

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

'', February 14, 2008 Flight attendant Uli Derickson was credited with calming one of the hijackers during a fuel-quantity incident during the first leg to Beirut, because she spoke German, the only European language which either hijacker spoke. Notably, she interrupted an attempt to end the hijacking in Algiers when airport officials refused to refuel the plane without payment by offering her own Shell Oil credit card, which was used to charge about $5,500 for 22,700 L (6,000 gal) of jet fuel, for which she was reimbursed. She also refused to cooperate with the hijackers in identifying for them the passports of any passengers with Jewish-sounding names so they could not be singled out. , an commissioned in 1995, was named in memory of Robert Stethem. The aircraft involved in the hijacking was put back into service. It remained in service for TWA until the aircraft was retired on September 30, 2000. It ceremoniously operated the airline's final revenue flight of their Boeing 727 fleet.

Alleged perpetrators

Hezbollah specialist Magnus Ranstorp of the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

credits "leading" Hezbollah members Hassan Izz-Al-Din (later involved with the Kuwait Airways Flight 422 hijacking in 1988) and Mohammed Ali Hammadi, whose brother was one of the commanders of the Hezbollah Special Security Apparatus, with assisting Hezbollah operatives in the "supervision and planning of the incident itself and as an active participant in the defusion and resolution". On October 10, 2001, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, three of the alleged hijackers, Imad Mughniyeh, Ali Atwa, and Hassan Izz-Al-Din, having been indicted earlier in

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...

s for the 1985 skyjacking of the American airliner, were among the original 22 fugitives announced by President George W. Bush to be placed on the newly formed FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. Rewards of $5 million for information resulting in the arrest and conviction of Atwa and Izz-Al-Din are still being offered by the United States. Mohammed Ali Hammadi was arrested in 1987 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, while attempting to smuggle liquid explosives, two years after the TWA Flight 847 attack. In addition to the West German charge of illegal importation of explosives, he was tried and convicted of Stethem's 1985 murder and was sentenced to life in prison. However, he was paroled and released by German officials on December 20, 2005, and returned to Lebanon.Germany paroles terrorist after 19-year term
''

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

''Will Germany Release an American-Killer?
January 27, 2004 There has been speculation that his parole was granted as part of a covert prisoner swap, in exchange for the release of Susanne Osthoff. Taken hostage in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

a month prior, Osthoff was released the week of Hammadi's parole. On February 14, 2006 the United States formally asked the Lebanese government to extradite Mohammed Ali Hammadi for Stethem's murder.US 'seeks justice' for hijacker
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'' On February 24, 2006, he appeared as well on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list, with the name Mohammed Ali "Hamadei" (sic). He was among the second group of indicted fugitives to be named by the FBI to the list.FBI updates most wanted terrorists and seeking information – War on Terrorism Lists
, ''

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

national Press Release'', February 24, 2006 Several news outlets reported the announcement by Hezbollah of the death of Imad Mughniyeh in a

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

explosion in Syria on February 13, 2008.Hezbollah: Top militant wanted by U.S. slain
''

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

'' February 13, 2008 The remaining three fugitives from TWA Flight 847 remain on the list, and at large. On September 19, 2019,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

police arrested a 65-year-old Lebanese man who was accused of involvement in the hijacking. The man was arrested at

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. At the 2021 census, there were 10,704 inhabitants, most of ...

during a passport check for cruise ship passengers. He was aboard a cruise ship that had crossed

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

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and Mykonos. Mykonos was the last stop before returning to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He was later released after police determined it was a case of mistaken identity. Hezbollah reportedly denies culpability in the TWA Flight 847 hijacking, among its denials of numerous other attacks that have been attributed to the group.

Film

*'' The Delta Force'' film of 1986 is based on the TWA 847 hijacking. *'' The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story'' is a 1988 TV movie based on the incident focusing on the role of flight attendant Uli Derickson (played by Lindsay Wagner).

Footnotes

† There is some discrepancy between sources as to when the Stethem incident occurred with some sources indicating it took place during the first stop in Beirut while others suggest it occurred during the second. Overall, more reliable sources seem to agree the murder took place during the second stop.

References

External links

FBI Most Wanted Terrorists at fbi.gov web site

Top Hezbollah militant slain

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