TWA flight 847

TWA Flight 847

A TWA Boeing 727-200 identical to the aircraft involved in the hijacking.
Hijacking summary
Date	June 14, 1985
Summary	Hijacking
Site	Greek airspace
Passengers	139
Crew	8
Fatalities	1
Survivors	146
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-231
Operator	Trans World Airlines
Registration	N64339
Flight origin	Cairo International Airport
1st stopover	Athens (Ellinikon) Int'l Airport
2nd stopover	Leonardo da Vinci Int'l Airport
3rd stopover	Boston Logan Airport
4th stopover	Los Angeles International Airport
Destination	San Diego International Airport

Trans World Airlines Flight 847 was a flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles. On the morning of Friday, June 14, 1985 Flight 847 was hijacked by members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad shortly after take off from Athens. The hijackers were seeking the release of 700 Shi'ite Muslims from Israeli custody.

The passengers and crew endured a three-day intercontinental ordeal. Some passengers were threatened and some beaten. Passengers with Jewish-sounding names were moved apart from the others. United States Navy diver Robert Stethem was killed, and his body was thrown onto the tarmac. Dozens of passengers were held hostage over the next two weeks until released by their captors after some of their demands were met.

Flight 847 was operated with a Boeing 727-200, registration N64339. The flight originated in Cairo on the morning of June 14. 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 Philip Maresca, Flight Engineer Christian Zimmermann, Flight Service Manager Uli Derickson, Flight Attendant Judith Cox, Flight Attendant Hazel Hesp, Flight Attendant Elizabeth Howes, and Flight Attendant Helen Sheahan.

At 10:10am, Flight 847 departed Athens for Rome. It was commandeered shortly after takeoff by two Arabic-speaking Lebanese men who had smuggled a pistol and two grenades through the Athens airport security. One was later identified as Mohammed Ali Hamadi, who was later captured and sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany.

The plane was diverted from its original destination of Rome, in airspace over Greece, to the Middle East and made its first stop, for several hours, at the Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, where 19 passengers were allowed to leave in exchange for fuel. Shortly before landing, air traffic control initially refused to let them land in Beirut. Captain Testrake argued with air traffic control until they relented.