,_Trans_World_Airlines_(TWA)_JP5958649.jpg) Photo taken in 1987 of N64339, the aircraft involved in the hijacking. | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 14, 1985 |
| Summary | Hijacking |
| Site | Greek airspace |
| Aircraft | |
| 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 | Logan International Airport |
| 4th stopover | Los Angeles International Airport |
| Destination | San Diego International Airport |
| Occupants | 155 |
| Passengers | 147 (including 2 hijackers) |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 154 |
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.