University of Virginia Library

Beirut

"Five minutes later, the co-pilot came over
the intercom and explained that two men from
the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine had come to survey the control panels
and had expressed a desire to fly to Beirut,
Lebanon. The co-pilot then added, 'Folks,
that's where we're going.' "

In an interview, Mr. Cochrane stated that
seated next to him was a Delta pilot bound for
New York to make a connection.
"Unfortunately, he knew everything about the
new 747 and told me we could never land in
Beirut because the runway was not made to
handle a plane of that size. At the time, none of
us knew exactly why we were being hijacked or
what the Arabs wanted. Needless to say, I was a
little uneasy about the whole situation."