TWA Flight 847

TWA Flight 847

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	147
Passengers	139
Crew	8
Fatalities	1
Survivors	146

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.