It started as a routine hop. Just a quick flight from Athens to Rome on a Friday morning in June 1985. Nobody on Trans World Airlines Flight 847 expected to become the face of a global hostage crisis, but by the time the Boeing 727 cleared Greek airspace, two men had already changed history. They had pistols and grenades. They were screaming.
The hijacking of TWA Flight 847 wasn't just another 1980s air piracy incident. It was a 17-day odyssey that moved back and forth across the Mediterranean like a shuttlecock, landing in Beirut and Algiers, involving multiple governments, and ending in a cold-blooded murder on the tarmac. If you weren't around then, it's hard to describe the sheer, vibrating tension that took over the evening news.
The Moment the World Changed
Two hijackers, later identified as members of Hezbollah, took control of the plane shortly after takeoff. They wanted the release of 766 Lebanese Shia and Palestinian detainees held by Israel. It was a big ask. A huge ask. And they were willing to kill for it.
The pilot, Captain John Testrake, was forced to divert to Beirut. Imagine sitting in a cockpit with a 9mm barrel pressed against your neck while you try to land a commercial jet on a runway surrounded by a civil war. That was Testrake’s reality. He became an accidental hero, leaning out the cockpit window to talk to reporters while a hijacker stood right behind him.
The plane landed in Beirut, refueled, flew to Algiers, and then flew back to Beirut. It was a chaotic, terrifying zig-zag. The hijackers were looking for something specific, though. They were looking for service members.
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The Murder of Robert Stethem
This is the part that still haunts anyone who followed the story. The hijackers began sorting through passports. They were looking for "official" documents or anyone who looked like they belonged to the U.S. military. They found Robert Dean Stethem, a 23-year-old U.S. Navy Seabee diver.
They beat him. Hard. For hours.
They didn't just kill him; they made an example of him. After hours of torture, they shot him in the head and dumped his body onto the tarmac at the Beirut airport. It was a brutal, senseless act that signaled to the Reagan administration that these men weren't playing. The image of Stethem's body lying on the concrete remains one of the most searing images of the decade.
Why Beirut Was a Powderkeg
Beirut in 1985 was basically a disaster zone. The Lebanese Civil War was in full swing. You had different factions—the Amal Movement, Hezbollah, various Christian militias—all fighting for scraps of the city. When the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 arrived, it wasn't just a plane landing; it was a political chip being tossed into a furnace.
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The hijackers eventually moved the passengers off the plane. They hid them in various locations around the city. This made a rescue mission—like the famous Enroute raid—almost impossible. Delta Force was spinning up, but how do you rescue 39 Americans scattered across a war-torn city where every apartment building might be a fortress? You don't. You negotiate.
The Negotiations and the Media Circus
Honestly, the media coverage was kind of insane. Journalists were literally surrounding the plane. They were interviewing the hijackers. They were talking to the pilot through the window. It was the first "real-time" televised hostage crisis of its kind.
The Reagan administration was stuck. They had a "no negotiations with terrorists" policy, but they also had dozens of American citizens being held in a basement in Beirut. Behind the scenes, the U.S. leaned on Israel. The deal was never "official," but eventually, Israel began releasing the Lebanese prisoners in batches. It was a face-saving measure. A way to give the hijackers what they wanted without calling it a trade.
The Long Shadow of Flight 847
The crisis ended on June 30, 1985. The remaining hostages were driven to Damascus and then flown to West Germany. They were home. But the story didn't end there. Not by a long shot.
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Mohammed Ali Hamadei, one of the primary hijackers, was eventually caught in West Germany in 1987. He was carrying explosives. He got life in prison, but—and this still makes people's blood boil—he was paroled in 2005 and sent back to Lebanon. The U.S. was furious. We still want him. He's still on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often think this was a simple case of a plane being stuck on a runway. It wasn't. It was a 10,000-mile journey. The plane crossed the Mediterranean multiple times.
- The Algiers Stops: People forget that Algiers played a huge role. The Algerian government actually managed to get several groups of hostages released, specifically women and children, during the stops there.
- The Pilot's Role: John Testrake wasn't just a pilot; he was a psychologist. He spent 17 days managing the moods of violent men to keep his remaining crew and passengers alive.
- The TWA Identity: TWA was the "airline to the world." This hijacking, along with others, eventually contributed to the decline of the brand. People became afraid to fly the red and white stripes.
Looking Back at the Security Failures
How did they get the guns on the plane? Simple. Security at the Athens airport was a joke back then. The hijackers literally walked through with fiberglass-wrapped pistols and grenades in their carry-on luggage. Metal detectors didn't pick them up. This single event changed airport security in Europe forever.
If you fly today and complain about taking your shoes off or the high-tech scanners, you're looking at the legacy of Flight 847. We realized that "good enough" security wasn't enough when dealing with state-sponsored or highly organized ideological groups.
The Actionable Takeaway: Lessons in History
Understanding the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 is more than just a history lesson. It’s a study in crisis management and the evolution of international law.
- Research the FBI’s Most Wanted: Take a look at the current list. You’ll see names like Ali Atwa and Mohammed Ali Hamadei. It reminds us that for the victims, this isn't "history"—it's an open case.
- Study the "No Negotiations" Paradox: Read up on the Reagan administration's "NSC-68" or similar policy papers. It’s a fascinating look at how governments balance the lives of individuals against the long-term safety of the state.
- Visit the Memorials: If you’re ever near Arlington National Cemetery, Robert Stethem is buried there. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. His grave is a sobering reminder of the cost of this 17-day standoff.
- Check Primary Sources: Don't just take a documentary's word for it. Look for the original New York Times archives from June 1985. The day-by-day reporting captures a level of uncertainty that modern retrospectives often smooth over.
The hijacking didn't just happen in a vacuum. It was part of a decade defined by the Cold War, the rise of extremist groups in the Middle East, and a shifting media landscape. It taught us that the world was much smaller—and much more dangerous—than we previously thought.