Dawson's Field hijackings

Dawson's Field hijackings
Part of Black September in Jordan and spillover of Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon
The airliners on the ground during the PFLP-hosted press conference.
Location	Zarka, Jordan
Coordinates	32°06′21″N 36°09′24″E / 32.105921°N 36.156717°E / 32.105921; 36.156717Coordinates: 32°06′21″N 36°09′24″E / 32.105921°N 36.156717°E / 32.105921; 36.156717
Date	6 September 1970 (1970-09-06)- 13 September 1970 (1970-09-13)
Target	TWA 741, Swissair 100, El Al 219, Pan Am 93, BOAC 775
Attack type	4 successful aircraft hijackings, 1 foiled
Weapons	Firearms and hand grenades
Deaths	Patrick Argüello (hijacker)
Non-fatal injuries	1
Perpetrators	Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Defenders	Bar Lev, passengers and sky marshal (Flight 219)
Motive	Release of Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Europe and Israel

El Al Flight 219

An El Al Boeing 707-458 4X-ATB in July 1970
Hijacking summary
Date	6 September 1970
Summary	Attempted Hijacking
Site	English Channel
Passengers	138
Crew	10
Fatalities	1 (hijacker)
Injuries (non-fatal)	1
Survivors	148
Aircraft type	Boeing 707–458
Operator	El Al Israel Airlines
Registration	4X-ATB
Flight origin	Ben Gurion Int'l Airport
Stopover	Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Destination	John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport

TWA Flight 741

A TWA Boeing 707 similar to the hijacked craft
Hijacking summary
Date	6 September 1970
Summary	Hijacking
Site	Brussels, Belgium
Passengers	144
Crew	11
Injuries (non-fatal)	none
Survivors	155 (all)
Aircraft type	Boeing 707–331B
Operator	Trans World Airlines
Registration	N8715T
Flight origin	Ben-Gurion Int'l Airport
2nd stopover	Ellinikon International Airport
3rd stopover	Frankfurt International Airport
Destination	John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport

Swissair Flight 100

Swissair's Douglas DC-8-53 HB-IDD at Zurich Airport in 1965.
Hijacking summary
Date	6 September 1970
Summary	Hijacking
Site	Dijon, France
Passengers	145
Crew	8
Injuries (non-fatal)	none
Survivors	152 (all)
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-8-53
Aircraft name	Nidwalden
Operator	Swissair
Registration	HB-IDD
Flight origin	Zurich Kloten Airport
Destination	John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport

Pan Am Flight 93

Boeing 747-121 (N750PA), similar to the hijacked plane in PA93.
Hijacking summary
Date	6 September 1970
Summary	Hijacking
Site	Scotland
Passengers	136
Crew	17
Injuries (non-fatal)	none
Survivors	153 (all)
Aircraft type	Boeing 747–121
Aircraft name	Clipper Fortune
Operator	Pan American World Airways
Registration	N752PA
Flight origin	Brussels Airport
Stopover	Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Destination	John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport

BOAC Flight 775

Vickers VC10 (G-ASGF) BOAC in June 1970
Hijacking summary
Date	9 September 1970
Summary	Hijacking
Site	Persian Gulf
Passengers	105
Crew	9
Injuries (non-fatal)	none
Survivors	114 (all)
Aircraft type	Vickers VC-10-1151
Operator	BOAC
Registration	G-ASGN
Flight origin	Sahar International Airport
Stopover	Bahrain International Airport
Destination	London Heathrow Airport

In September 1970, four jet airliners bound for New York City and one for London were hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Three aircraft were forced to land at Dawson's Field, a remote desert airstrip near Zarka, Jordan, formerly a British Royal Air Force base, one that then become PFLP's "Revolutionary Airport". By the end of the incident, one hijacker had been killed and one injury reported. This was the second instance of mass aircraft hijacking, after an escape from communist Czechoslovakia in 1950.

While the majority of the 310 hostages were transferred to Amman and freed on 11 September the PFLP segregated the flight crews and Jewish passengers, keeping the 56 Jewish hostages in custody, while releasing the non-Jews. Six hostages in particular were kept because they were men and American citizens, not necessarily Jews. The six men held in particular were Robert Norman Schwartz, a U.S. Defense Department researcher stationed in Bangkok, Thailand; James Lee Woods, Schwartz's assistant and security detail; Gerald Berkowitz, an American-born Jew and college chemistry professor; Rabbi Abraham Harrari-Raful and his brother Rabbi Joseph Harrari-Raful, two Brooklyn school teachers; and John Hollingsworth, a U.S. State Department employee. Schwartz was a convert to Catholicism whose father was Jewish. On 12 September prior to their announced deadline, the PFLP used explosives to destroy the empty planes, as they anticipated a counterstrike.

The PFLP's exploitation of Jordanian territory in the drama was another instance of the increasingly autonomous Arab Palestinian activity within the Kingdom of Jordan – a serious challenge to the Hashemite monarchy of King Hussein. Hussein declared martial law on 16 September and from 17 to 27 September his forces deployed into Palestinian-controlled areas in what became known as Black September in Jordan, nearly triggering a regional war involving Syria, Iraq, and Israel with potentially global consequences.