TWA Flight 847

TWA Flight 847
Photo taken in 1987 of N64339, the aircraft involved in the hijacking.
Hijacking
DateJune 14, 1985
SummaryHijacking
SiteGreek airspace
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 727–231
OperatorTrans World Airlines
RegistrationN64339
Flight originCairo International Airport
1st stopoverAthens (Ellinikon) Int'l Airport
2nd stopoverLeonardo da Vinci Int'l Airport
3rd stopoverLogan International Airport
4th stopoverLos Angeles International Airport
DestinationSan Diego International Airport
Occupants155
Passengers147 (including 2 hijackers)
Crew8
Fatalities1
Survivors154

TWA Flight 847 was a regularly scheduled Trans World Airlines flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles.[1] On the morning of June 14, 1985, Flight 847 was hijacked soon after take off from Athens.[2][3] The hijackers demanded the release of 700 Shia Muslims from Israeli custody and took the plane repeatedly to Beirut and Algiers.[1] Later Western analysis considered them members of the Hezbollah group, an allegation Hezbollah rejects.

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

  1. ^ a b Smith, William E. June 24, 2001. Terror Aboard Flight 847. TIME Magazine. Retrieved: 24 November 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Photius was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pilot Photo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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