Hijacking of TWA 847
14-30 JUNE 1985
HIJACKING OF TWA 847
At 1000 on Friday June 14th, TWA Flight 847 began rolling down the runway at Athens, Greece. The Boeing 727 was bound for Rome on a flight that had originated in Cairo and was ultimately bound for New York. All 145 seats were filled with the usual complement of businessmen, Holy Land tourists, and with six US Navy Seabees. The six, all in civilian clothes, were divers returning from repairing an undersea water main in Greece. Senior among them was Chief Petty Officer (select) Stuart Dahl, who had been the Navy’s Sailor of the Year in 1984.
But as the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign blinked off, two Arabic men rushed forward, kicking Uli Derickson, the TWA purser, to the floor. A tall one, brandishing a chrome-plated .45 in one hand and a bag of grenades over his shoulder, pounded on the cockpit door while a shorter terrorist, who was obviously the leader, fumbled with the pin of a hand grenade. They shouted instructions in German to Ms. Derickson, punctuated in broken English with “Americans die!” There were 37 Americans on board.
The terrorists collected passports and ID from the passengers and herded them into the rear of the plane, two to a seat in a head-down crouch. The pilot, Capt. John Testrake, announced that the terrorists were diverting the plane to Beirut. Through Ms. Derickson, a demand was made that any American with ties to his government come forth. Two passengers stood up, MAJ Kurt Carlson, an Army Reservist who had been on temporary duty in Cairo, and one of the divers, SW2 Robert D. Stetham.
To reinforce threats that “One American must die!,” Stetham was hauled forward and brutally beaten. Lebanese officials refused to negotiate however, and the frustrated terrorists then ordered the plane to Algeria. Here Carlson was similarly beaten. Again, the terrorists failed to convince Algerian officials to entertain demands for the release of 766 Palestinians then held by Israel. Once again the plane departed for Beirut.
This time Lebanese authorities blocked the runway with vehicles. While Testrake appealed that his 727 was completely out of fuel, the angry terrorists screamed their threats anew. At the height of this panic shots rang out. When the plane did finally roll to a stop, Stetham’s body was unceremoniously dumped onto the tarmac. The five remaining Seabees were taken to an apartment in Beirut where they were held for the next 12 days. Their release was negotiated by Amal, a less militant Shiite faction. The highjackers were lionized by fellow Hezbullah Shiites and were never identified to western authorities. Stetham is remembered today in the naming of the Arleigh Burke destroyer, DDG-63.
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 18 JUN 23
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Carlson, Kurt. One American Must Die: A Hostage’s Personal Account of the Hijacking of Flight 847. New York, NY: Congdon & Weed, Inc., 1986.
Sweetman, Jack. American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-Present, 2nd ed. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1991, p. 278.
