Fri, Aug 06, 2010
Was Captain Of A Plane Hijacked By Palestinian Militants
In 1972
Reginald Levy started his 50th birthday like he did many days,
departing Brussels as a pilot for Sabena Airlines on a flight to
Tel Aviv. But on this day, May 8th, 1972, the Boeing 707 Levy was
flying was hijacked by Palestinian militants about half way through
the flight to Israel. The militants forced Levy to land the plane
at what is now Ben Gurion Airport, and said they would blow it up
if Israel did not release 300 Palestinian prisoners.
That pilot, who became famous for his cool-headed response to
the hijacking, passed away last Sunday in Dover in southern
England, according to his daughter Linda Lipschitz. Levy was
88.
Also on board the plane was Levy's wife. The two
had planned to celebrate their wedding anniversary with dinner
in Tel Aviv that night. Fox News reports that Levy talked to the
hijackers, keeping them calm and eventually being sent by the
militants to relay their demands to the Israeli government
officials who had come to the airport. Instead, Levy gave Defense
Minister Moshe Dayan details about the attackers, where they were
located on the aircraft, and what type of weapons they were
carrying.
Nearly a day after landing, Israeli commandos posing as
mechanics stormed the plane, killing two militants and capturing
two. While several passengers were injured, none were killed.
Levy, who had flown bombers for the Royal Air Force during WWII
and took part in the Berlin airlift, continued flying for Sabena
until 1982, when he retired.
His daughter told Fox News "Airplanes and flying were his whole
life."
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