10 Years Ago Today

[TitaniumLegs 8]

I wrote this 10 years ago, and updated it in 1996...

Lufthansa 592 - 11 Feb 93

Lufthansa flight 592 on the 11th of February, 1993, was scheduled to fly from Frankfurt to Cairo and then to Addis Ababa. There were 104 passengers and crew on the aircraft, an Airbus 310, including eight Canadians, at least three Americans, and German, Irish, British, Egyptian, Moroccan, Somalian and Ethiopian passengers.

Security at Frankfurt airport was normal for the current threat level. Baggage was X-rayed and passengers were checked with a magnetic wand. After being bussed to the aircraft, we had to identify our baggage. (If you don't claim it, it doesn't get on). Two passengers, an American woman, Karol, and an Ethiopian man, were late arriving, and came on a bus by themselves.

Boarding the aircraft was uneventful, however there was a brief problem with one of the cargo doors. Take off was normal. After reaching cruising altitude, the Ethiopian was seen to take his bag into the washroom, and then rummage in it between the last seat and the washroom wall. He then went forward with his bag.

As we crossed the Austrian border, the fog cleared and we could see the mountains. I was looking for and pointing out ski areas below us to Karol. The aircraft suddenly turned approximately 135 degrees to the right to a Westerly heading. A few minutes later the Captain announced in German then in English:

"Ladies and gentlemen this is the Captain speaking. I have an important announcement. Please remain calm, remain in your seats and do not panic. There is a young man up here who does not want to go to Cairo and he has a gun pointed at my head. He wants to go to Hannover and then to New York. So if you don't mind, we are going to do that."

When I heard the announcement in German, my first thought was "I hope my German is a lot worse than I thought it was." When he made the announcement in English, everybody knew what was going on. There were tears and fear, but nobody panicked. Unlike the scenes in Airport movies, there was total calm.

For some reason, perhaps due to the calm voice of the Captain, I felt no fear at all during the flight. I was a little worried that the hijacker might doze off and wake in a panic, or just panic and fire his weapon either at the pilots or a window. Other than that, I had absolute confidence that nobody would get hurt.

We landed in Hannover and waited at the end of the runway. While we were there, we saw people walking their dogs outside the airport perimeter, less than 100 meters from the plane. Two cars pulled up, the drivers got out and stood on their vehicles to take pictures. It was unclear whether they were journalists, police, or airport staff. As we taxied, we could see more vehicles, presumably police and airport staff negotiators in and around the trees outside the perimeter.

After refueling and some brief negotiations, we took off for JFK/New York. The flight to New York was almost a normal flight. We did not see the hijacker, and there were no threats. The Captain announced that we could use the washrooms, and that the flight attendants could show the films and serve the meal and drinks, except alcohol. I had already seen the first film, so I slept a little and spent most of the time comforting those passengers who were really scared. I did what I could to pass my confidence on to those around me.

Besides feeling very calm, I had afew thoughts about religion. I don't particularly believe in any religion, but most people do. I hope that there are such things as God and Heaven, because many people who do believe pray for it and deserve it. I remember thinking "If anybody is up there, there are a lot of people down here (up here?) who are asking for help."

Across the aisle from me was a woman from Montreal with her son of about four and daughter of about six. Although the mother was crying quietly, the children slept for the first few hours. They spent the rest of the flight drawing and playing with puppets and toys provided by the flight attendants.

While talking to the passengers in my area, I tried to find out what we knew about the hijacker and the situation in general. Karol said that she had boarded with him and that he seemed quiet and polite. An Egyptian/Canadian man who was originally seated with the hijacker said that he was polite and spoke of being refused asylum in Norway and Germany, and of his dream of going to college in the U.S., where he has two brothers and a sister. From this information, and the announcements of the Captain, we were fairly sure that there were no other "terrorists" involved, nor were there any explosives on board. We had no way to be absolutely positive, but the evidence was pretty strong.

A few things need to be pointed out at this time. The news media reported demands of U.S./U.N. intervention in Bosnia, as one of the passengers heard on his Walkman radio. This was totally untrue. He simply did not want to go back to Ethiopia. The German government was deporting him. He could not endorse or transfer his ticket, so he obtained a starter pistol (fires blanks only). He was young and scared and did not know what he was doing. He honestly believed he could just walk off the plane. He thought America would welcome him with open arms.

There was no way we could know that it was a starter pistol, since those on board who knew weapons did not see it. Some of us considered trying to disarm the hijacker, but I dismissed the idea for the following reasons:

1] We did not know how he was armed.

2] We were not certain he was alone.

3] He had not threatened anyone, nor did we feel threatened.

4] I felt that the danger of putting a bullet through a window or a person was greater than flying to New York as things were.

The Captain made a few more announcements and kept reassuring us that we had enough fuel to make it. We already knew that, since the first thing we did after hearing that our destination was New York was to check the Lufthansa Bordbuch for the air distance to JFK and the maximum range of an A310. According to the airline magazine, we had 1200 km to spare. Even if we could not make JFK, there were dozens of alternates on the way.

Flights to third-world countries usually carry provisions for the return flight, since food and water sources are often not safe. Because of this, we had supplies for two meals en route, and even watched two movies. At this point, it was almost a normal flight, except the flight attendants would not serve any alcohol. I spent part of the flight talking to the man who had been seated next to the hijacker.

We were cleared for a direct emergency approach to JFK. The aircraft was led to a clear area of the airport, which was actually designed for this purpose. Under the aircraft was a tunnel through which SWAT teams could approach the aircraft undetected. As it turned out, SWAT teams were unnecessary, since the hijacker was as good as his word. He had promised the Captain that he would turn over his gun after arrival at JFK. In fact, he traded the gun for the Captain's pilot sunglasses!! The hijacker then walked off the plane. Inside his balaclava was a note reading "Thank you and tschuss." (The FBI later thought "Tschuss" was a code word.)

The Captain radioed to the police that it was over, and announced to the passengers to leave our baggage but take our papers, money and jewelry. He told us that the police wanted us to sit down so they could check everything. (It still was not positive that there was only one hijacker and no explosives.) Then all hell broke loose.

Suddenly, there were angry shouts of "Get down!! Everybody - down, now! Hands in the air!" The SWAT team had arrived. I pushed Karol into her seat and was about to sit down as I saw a SWAT officer raising a 9mm automatic at me. I put my hands on my head and sat down. We were then told to put our hands on the back of the seat in front of us where they could be seen. The SWAT teams then called "CLEAR", meaning that they had secured their assigned objectives.

I glanced to the rear of the aircraft and saw that two SWAT members were still pointing Heckler and Koch MP5-SD2 9mm sub-machineguns with silencers at the passengers. This was the first time during the entire incident that I felt any fear, and I was scared. Karol saw my hands shaking, and knew that if I was afraid, something was wrong. The SMGs remained pointed at us until we started unloading, one at a time.

We were all frisked as we left the aircraft. We then boarded busses and were taken to the Lufthansa VIP lounge for debriefing by FBI investigators. We also had several drinks. We were met by State Department and Consulate officials. Lufthansa offered tickets anywhere, and overnight rooms. Those who wanted to go back to Frankfurt were flown out that night on the same A310, with a different crew, after the plane was cleaned, serviced, and refueled. I asked if Vancouver was an option and was told "Anything is an option!"

I flew to Seattle and Vancouver the next day on United and was treated like a god, partly because of what I had gone through, and partly because one of the women I had comforted is a United flight attendant. Lufthansa has done everything for the passengers and crew on LH592. Today I received a personal letter from Dipl.-Ing. Juergen Weber, Chairman of Lufthansa German Airlines, offering me a free ticket anywhere, anytime, as he had to all of us.

There was a press conference at which I was bombarded with questions about the hijacker, the Captain and crew, the flight, the mood, why I was going to Cairo, etc., etc. I also was invited by CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, CBC, BBC and several smaller stations to do their 0700 morning shows. I declined since I was flying to Vancouver that morning. It is interesting that less than two days after the incident it was "Yesterday's News".

There has been much speculation as to how the hijacker was able to get the weapon on board. There have been four theories put forward:

1] The hijacker came in a day or two before when the particular gate was not in use, and taped the gun under a chair. This was rejected because he had no way of being sure it would be the right gate, and international gates are always secure, since the whole area is.

2] It was an "inside job" in that he had an accomplice on the airport staff. This is possible and very frightening.

3] The weapon was in his checked baggage and he retrieved it when he identified his baggage. This is unlikely since checked baggage is X-rayed.

4] He hid the gun in his wool hat while he was checked and nobody checked the hat. This is the accepted theory, since he said this is how he did it.

In any case, it is the responsibility of Frankfurt Airport Gesellschaft to provide security. It was a failure on their part that allowed this to happen. However, I understand that no security system is impenetrable. I take no action against FAG, until and unless there is some indication of negligence on their part or their employees. I just hope it does not happen again.

To be fair to FAG, Frankfurt is one of the busiest airports in the world, and is the gateway to more cultures than any other airport. As a result there are probably more attempted attacks than any other airport. I know of two that got through. How many do they catch, that we never hear about?

I will be writing a letter to Lufthansa stating my absolute respect for Captain Gerhard Goebel. It is unanimous to all of the passengers that he is singularly responsible for maintaining the calm that enabled all of us to survive the ordeal uninjured. The rest of the crew is also commendable for carrying out their duties in a truly professional fashion, even though they were visibly frightened.

I wish there was something that could be done about the bad press and intelligence on this. The press said there were two Americans, one Canadian and a few Germans on board, and that the rest were Egyptian. As I said earlier, this was totally wrong. They said the hijacker was from Bosnia and wanted U.S. and U.N. intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This was also wrong. This may also be part of the reason that the SWAT team acted as they did.

I will also be contacting the FBI to find out if it is "Standard Procedure" to frighten civilians who thought they had just been delivered from extreme danger, and if it is, why. It needs to be pointed out that the trauma of the actions of the SWAT teams is probably one of the main reasons why some of us are having serious problems dealing with this. I understand why the SWAT teams (there were actually three teams) came on board, and I accept that. I do not accept the violence and shock tactics used. I do not accept law enforcement agents pointing automatic weapons at me or any other innocent civilian.

In June, 1996, I was in New York again for PC-Expo, a computer trade show. While I was there, we read in the papers that the man who hijacked a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Cairo and forced it to fly to New York had been convicted of air piracy, and sentenced to 25 years in jail. He got want he asked for: Life in America. The best years of his life in an American prison. Three years after the incident, justice was served.

I never did get an answer from the FBI.

(>o|-<

If you don't believe me, ask me.

[leroydb 0]

wow... much respect

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...

[LouDiamond 1]

Quote

I will also be contacting the FBI to find out if it is "Standard Procedure" to frighten civilians who thought they had just been delivered from extreme danger, and if it is, why. It needs to be pointed out that the trauma of the actions of the SWAT teams is probably one of the main reasons why some of us are having serious problems dealing with this. I understand why the SWAT teams (there were actually three teams) came on board, and I accept that. I do not accept the violence and shock tactics used. I do not accept law enforcement agents pointing automatic weapons at me or any other innocent civilian.

If you want an answer to this PM me and I will try to answer your questions.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[diverdriver 6]

Pete, I didn't remember you talking about this incident at all when I was out in Cali. Wow. Glad you all came out ok physically. Think about that situation today....that plane would never have been allowed to approach New York. It would have been forced to land somewhere else or been shot down by F-16s. Amazing isn't it? The only option we have to confront hi-jackers who make it into the cockpit is to get shot down. Ah well, we'll be getting guns soon. Imagine his surprise if he had fired that starter gun......Just a bang and nothing hit. Then BANG and lights out.

Chris

[slim 0]

thats why I Jump outta the plane!!

much respect man!

<<<>>>
A good friend will bail you outta jail... A true friend will be sitting next to you saying "That was fucking awesome!!!'

[TitaniumLegs 8]

Apparently, we did have fighter escort. There was plenty of heads-up for even the Canadian Air Force to get their act together and find a working CF-18 and somebody who remembers how to drive it. We had CF-18 cover before we entered Canadian aispace, and were handed off to the USAF (don't know if it was F-15s or F-16s) at the border. I found that part out years later, but it seems obvious enough. Even if the plane does go where it's supposed to, it's nice to know where it is if it goes down.

As far as the "gun", yeah, I thought about that a lot. I think one reason the crew never did anything is that most Germans have little or no exposure to weapons and can't tell the difference. I wonder if I'd actually seen the weapon, even if I couldn't tell for sure, if I'd have gone for it. The guy was really small. Lots of problems with that idea, though.

Anyhow, we got really lucky nobody was hurt, not even the badguy.
Peter

(>o|-<

If you don't believe me, ask me.