Man, this is one spooky episode of a very good series. It has nothing to do with airplanes in flight, misleading instruments, weather, or structural failure. It's all too human.
In 1994, an Air France Airbus is about to take off from the politically turbulent nation of Algiers with 133 passengers. Four armed men, claiming to be from the police, board the airplane and take it over. They're jihadists, to use the current term. They demand the airplane depart for Paris.
The Algerian authorities are having none of it. They block the runway and refuse to back down. The hijackers are enraged and begin shooting and killing three passengers. Not even pleas from the leader's mother will change his mind.
At length, the French government persuades the Algerians to allow the plane to fly to Marseilles. The French, having dealt with terrorists for some years now, are better prepared to handle the situation.
At Marseilles there are constant delays and arguments back and forth until finally the French are able to launch a "step ladder cavalry charge." The passenger steps are hurriedly rolled up to the doors and special agents burst into the airplane. Gunfire is exchanged and grenades explode, after which the four terrorists are dead and the remaining passengers survive with only small injuries. Nine of the agents are wounded, one seriously, but all recover.
The hijacking lasted about two days, and the hours of boredom are effectively conveyed. (I wondered about the conditions of the toilets.) The episode consists mostly of reenactments but is enhanced by news footage of the actual event, which was broadcast world wide.
The terrorists were four dedicated amateurs who genuinely believed that death leads to paradise and those who die in the cause of Islam are martyrs, even the passengers who are executed by them. The plan was to fly the Airbus to Paris and explode it over the Eiffel Tower, a catastrophe.
Nine years later their performance would be more polished.
In 1994, an Air France Airbus is about to take off from the politically turbulent nation of Algiers with 133 passengers. Four armed men, claiming to be from the police, board the airplane and take it over. They're jihadists, to use the current term. They demand the airplane depart for Paris.
The Algerian authorities are having none of it. They block the runway and refuse to back down. The hijackers are enraged and begin shooting and killing three passengers. Not even pleas from the leader's mother will change his mind.
At length, the French government persuades the Algerians to allow the plane to fly to Marseilles. The French, having dealt with terrorists for some years now, are better prepared to handle the situation.
At Marseilles there are constant delays and arguments back and forth until finally the French are able to launch a "step ladder cavalry charge." The passenger steps are hurriedly rolled up to the doors and special agents burst into the airplane. Gunfire is exchanged and grenades explode, after which the four terrorists are dead and the remaining passengers survive with only small injuries. Nine of the agents are wounded, one seriously, but all recover.
The hijacking lasted about two days, and the hours of boredom are effectively conveyed. (I wondered about the conditions of the toilets.) The episode consists mostly of reenactments but is enhanced by news footage of the actual event, which was broadcast world wide.
The terrorists were four dedicated amateurs who genuinely believed that death leads to paradise and those who die in the cause of Islam are martyrs, even the passengers who are executed by them. The plan was to fly the Airbus to Paris and explode it over the Eiffel Tower, a catastrophe.
Nine years later their performance would be more polished.
