‘Terrorists are not freedom fighters or anything else.’ Bangkok International Airport September 2001. Hijacked: Flight 73, Reagan, Sky 2023
‘The 80s have surely become the age of the airline attack.’ ibid. TV
En route from Bombay, India to New York Pan Am 73 made an early morning stop in Karachi. ibid.
Flight 73 had 379 passengers and crew aboard including 13 flight attendants. ibid.
‘It was hard to leave the cockpit. To leave the fight attendants … You feel like you abandoning them.’ ibid. escape
‘He said he wanted to fly to Larnaca, Cyprus.’ ibid. rozzer
‘No group had come forward to claim responsibility.’ ibid.
‘But the raid on Tripoli was a failure.’ ibid. dude
‘It was mass howling. It was unearthly.’ ibid. woman re gunman opening fire
‘Only Americans are included in the settlement.’ ibid. dude
The remaining hijackers and an accomplice were released from jail in 2008 without the knowledge of tue US authrities. ibid.
This is the Boeing 737 aeroplane. It is the workhorse of British charter airlines and dozens of other airlines around the world … On August 22nd this year at 12 minutes past 7 in the morning the 737’s proud reputation suffered a sudden blow. The sound of an exploding engine echoed across Manchester airport … [and] caught fire as it was about to take off. Within a few minutes 54 holidaymakers had died in the inferno that cut the plane in two. World in Action: The Last Days of Juliet Lima, ITV 1985
Behind the tragic scenes of that fateful day which brought the prime minister to Manchester lies the history of a troubled engine. ibid.
1969: After years of development work and months of delay Concorde was about to take off for the first time. But Concorde was not the world’s first supersonic engine jet to fly. She had been beaten into the air by her Soviet rival: Konkordski. Secret History s4e6: Konkordski, Channel 4 1996
The Russian ‘Concorde’ crashed in 1973 at the Paris Air Show in what we will reveal to be extraordinary circumstances. ibid.
In France the Russians recruited secret agents. Their mission: to penetrate Concorde’s factories. ibid.
The day that a plane first flew faster than sound was a milestone in the history of aviation … Great risks were taken and lives lost in a venture that many thought to be foolhardy. Secret History s5e3: Breaking the Sound Barrier, Channel 4 1997
At any given moment roughly 10,000 Boeing aircraft are in service in more than 150 countries. Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, 2022
2018: And then two planes drop out of the sky. ibid.
Boeing Withheld Information on 737 Model, According to Safety Experts & Others. ibid. The Wall Street Journal
Boeing would not publicly consider that something was wrong with the design of the aeroplane. ibid.
‘We are going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all fights of 737Max8 and the 737Max9.’ ibid. Trump
‘Expecting more with less … We saw the company change before our eyes.’ ibid. ex-employee
‘Over time the lazer focus on safety that had been traditional was compromised.’ ibid.
‘Boeing whistleblowers have said that anybody who reported a problem at the South Carolina plant was either fired or let go or moved on.’ ibid.
‘Widespread pattern inside Boeing of deceitful behaviour.’ ibid.
In 1972, 45 people boarded a flight from Uruguay to Chile. Only 16 would return having made one of the most incredible decisions of their lives. To eat or starve to death. The decision would live with them forever. Andes Plane Crash: Escape & Rescue I, captions, Channel 5 2024
I said I don’t want to wait here. I want to go back to my father. I want to go back to my life. ibid. survivor
40 passengers and five crew. ibid.
And the horrid sound of the impact. Instantly everything went black. ibid.
It is believed the accident was caused by pilot error. 12 people died in the crash. 5 more died in the first 24 hours. ibid. captions
We put all the dead together. We covered them with snow as a kind of burial. Then we waited for rescue. ibid. survivor
And I know that everyone is thinking the same thing. ibid.
In 1972, the survivors of a plane crash were stranded in the Andes Mountains. With freezing temperatures and no food, they faced an extraordinary battle to survive. Andes Plane Crash: Escape & Rescue II, captions
And then comes the infamous radio announcement that they had carried out the search. ibid. survivor
Avalanche: We were there three days – three days covered in snow. ibid.
We tried to light a cigarette. We couldn’t make fire. ibid.
If we don’t do something now, we’ll suffocate like rats. ibid.
We organised the first expedition … They were really very scared. ibid.
It was the only way to stay alive. To fight against death. Andes Plane Crash: Escape & Rescue III, survivor
For seven days we walked on snow and ice … We were dying. We were dying. ibid.
We found a river. And we remembered what we learned in school, in geography … Let’s follow this river … We saw a cow … The man on the horse stops and looks at me and Jesus, maybe I can live. Maybe I can survive. ibid.
We came back from another world. ibid.
At 12.42 a.m. on the 8th March 2013 Malaysia Airlines Flight NH370 takes off from Kuala Lumpa airport. Its destination Beijing. 239 passengers and crew were on board. 40 minutes into the flight something extraordinary happens. The plane disappears from the radar of Air Traffic Control. This World: Why Planes Vanish: The Hunt for MH370, BBC 2024
‘We waited. And waited and waiting. Every now and then, Any news? Nothing yet. Nothing yet. Just waiting for news, and they couldn’t give us anything at all.’ ibid.
Contact was lost three hours into the flight over a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean. ibid.
‘It was the most luxurious way to transport passengers.’ Hindenburg: The Cover Up, man, Channel 4 2024
‘Both The Titanic and Hindenburg stories do share a certain sense of hubris.’ ibid.
May 6th 1937, minutes after the Hindenburg deadly disaster the colossal Nazi airship lies a smouldering hulk of twisted metal. Sirens blare as naval officers and first responders search for life amid the flames. ibid.
Joseph Spah, travelling with his dog Ullah, will become the focus of a sabotage investigation after the disaster. ibid.
Another Zeppelin Over London. ibid. Daily Sketch front page
‘It crashed on its 63rd flight.’ ibid. man
‘This thing was a symbol of Nazi pride.’ ibid.
‘You hear a pop and then it bursts into flames.’ ibid. investigator
For those inside the ship survival is a matter of chance. ibid.
The investigation board includes men loyal to the National Socialists. ibid.