TWA Flight 847

Trans World Airlines Flight 847 piloted by Captain John Testrake, flying from Athens to Rome, was hijacked on June 14, 1985. The Boeing 727 departed at 10:10 am on a Friday, carrying 153 passengers and crew, including flight engineer Benjamin C. Zimmerman, co-pilot Philip G. Maresca, and purser Uli Derickson.

Related Topics:
Athens - Rome - Hijacked - June 14 - 1985 - Boeing 727 - Uli Derickson

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It was commandeered shortly after takeoff by two men who allegedly smuggled pistols and grenades through the Athens airport security. A third hijacker, Ali Atwa, was bumped from the flight and was later arrested.

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The plane first stopped in Beirut for several hours. The hijackers allowed 19 passengers to leave in exchange for fuel. The plane then went to Algiers where 20 passengers were released during a five hour stop, before the plane headed back to Beirut. At the time, Lebanon was in the midst of a civil war, and Beirut was split into sectors with different militia controlling different areas.

Related Topics:
Beirut - Algiers - Lebanon - Civil war

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The Beirut International Airport, surrounded by a Shiite neighborhood, had no perimeter security and nearby residents could simply drive onto the runway.

Related Topics:
Beirut International Airport - Shiite

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At the second stop in Beirut things turned violent. The hijackers picked out an American Navy diver, Robert Stethem, from among the passengers. They beat him, shot him in the right temple, and dumped his body out of the plane onto the tarmac. Several passengers with Jewish sounding names were taken off the plane, but not released. Nearly a dozen armed men joined the hijackers before the plane returned to Algiers where and additional 65 passengers were released. It again returned to Beirut, landing on Sunday afternoon, and remained here.

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One of the TWA crew members, Uli Derickson, was widely credited with calming the hijackers and saving the lives of many passengers.

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The Greek government released the accomplice Ali Atwa and in exchange, the hijackers released eight Greek citizens. One of the passengers was Demis Roussos, a Greek folk singer.

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The initial demands of the hijackers included the release of all Shiites captured by Israel in Lebanon, international condemnation of Israeli military activity in southern Lebanon, condemnation of U.S. actions in the Middle East, condemnation of a car bombing in the Beirut suburb of Bir al Abed that occurred March 8. Rumors in Beirut suggested that the car bombing, which killed 80 people, was linked to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Related Topics:
Israel - Middle East - Bir al Abed - March 8 - Central Intelligence Agency

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By Monday afternoon, June 17, most of the hostages had been taken from the plane to a secure location. The 40 remaining hostages were protected by Nabih Berri, a moderate Shiite leader of the Amal militia. He was also an official in the fractured Lebanon government. One of the hostages was released when he developed heart trouble, the other 39 remained captive until June 30, when they were driven to Syria, boarded a U.S. Air Force plane, and flew to West Germany.

Related Topics:
June 17 - Nabih Berri - Amal - June 30

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Israel released most of the prisoners within a month after the hijacking ended. They stated that the release was unrelated to the hijacking and had long been planned.

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One of the hijackers, Mohammed Homadi, was arrested two years later in Frankfurt, Germany. He was tried and convicted of Stethem's murder. He is serving a life sentence in Germany. On October 10, 2001, three of the alleged hijackers, Imad Mugniyah, Ali Atwa, and Hassan Izz-Al-Din were placed on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. Rewards of $25 million for information leading to their arrests and convictions are currently being offered by the United States.

Related Topics:
Mohammed Homadi - October 10 - 2001 - Imad Mugniyah - Hassan Izz-Al-Din - FBI Most Wanted Terrorists - United States

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