John Testrake

TWA Boeing 747 pilot John Testrake was taken hostage on June 14, 1985 along with 145 passengers and seven other crew members while piloting flight 847 from Athens, Greece to Rome, Italy. The hijackers were two Lebanese members of the Amal Movement, a faction of Hezbollah.

The hijackers took control of the aircraft shortly after takeoff and ordered Testrake to fly to Beirut, Lebanon where, in exchange for fuel, 19 hostages were released. The flight continued to Algiers, Algeria, where another 20 hostages were allowed to deplane before the aircraft returned to Beirut. At the Beirut airport, one of the passengers was shot in the head and dumped on the tarmac. More than ten armed men boarded the plane in Beirut before it flew back to Algiers, where another 65 hostages were released. The plane traveled back to Beirut, where it remained. Testrake and 38 other passengers were held hostage for another two weeks before they were released.

• CNN.com: Clancy: Terror mastermind's deception cause for skepticism (February 14, 2008)

• Kansas City Star: "Death of terrorist a reminder of brave Richmond pilot" (February 13, 2008)

• WashingtonPost.com: "Chronology of Hostage Crisis" (1985)

• Time Magazine: "At Last, the Agony Is Over" (1985)

• The Guardian: "Hostages are freed" (1985)

• Find A Grave Memorial: John Testrake

• Topix.net: John Testrake

• Google News: John Testrake

• Google Blog Search: John Testrake

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