Guerrillas Embarrassed
Several minutes later the little Jewish man
returned to his seat, still shaking but obviously
relieved to know that he was in no more danger
than any of the rest of us. They [the guerrillas]
seemed to be very embarrassed — their man was
on another flight."
By this time the plane was nearing Beirut
and the pilot announced that all passengers
should prepare for a rough landing. The
hijackers, feeling that they would have
sanctuary in the Lebanese capital, began to
assemble their equipment which included
plaster explosives and prepared to leave the
plane.
"When we landed, I could feel the pilot
throw the jets into full reverse and the plane
fish-tailed all the way down the runway. We ran
off the concrete onto the temporary payment
but managed to land safely. We could all see the
Lebanese Army which had surrounded the
airport and seven more guerrillas boarded the
aircraft without incident. Having realized that
the Lebanese government was not at all in
sympathy with their cause, the hijackers
ordered the pilot to take off and set a course
for Cairo."
