"Le 8 mai 1972, le vol 751 Bruxelles-Tel Aviv de la Sabena avait été pris d’assaut en plein vol, juste après l’escale à Vienne, par un commando de l’organisation terroriste palestinienne Septembre noir - la même qui, quatre mois plus tard, tuerait onze athlètes israéliens lors des Jeux olympiques de Munich. Avec un flegme tout britannique, le commandant Levy -qui fêtait ce jour-là son 50e anniversaire- avait averti ses 90 passagers qu’il y avait "des amis à bord".
Les pirates de l’air, deux hommes et deux femmes, avaient contraint le commandant Levy à poser l’appareil à l’aéroport Lydda (rebaptisé Ben Gourion depuis) à Tel Aviv. Ils avaient ensuite menacé de faire sauter l’appareil, si Israël refusait de libérer 317 prisonniers arabes. Le ministre israélien de la Défense, Moshe Dayan fut mandaté pour mener les négociations.
Bien qu’Israël n’eût jamais l’intention d’accéder aux desiderata des pirates: pendant la nuit, des saboteurs israéliens dégonflèrent les pneus de l’avion et mirent le système hydraulique hors d’état pour l’empêcher de redécoller. Reginald Levy s’employa à calmer la nervosité des pirates en discutant avec eux toute la nuit, de tous les sujets possibles "allant de la navigation au sexe". Le lendemain, il fut envoyé comme émissaire au terminal de l’aéroport, muni d’un échantillon du type d’explosifs que le commando menaçait d’utiliser. L’ex-pilote de la Royal Air Force en profita pour renseigner les Israéliens sur la description des pirates, leurs positions et sur le fait qu’il n’y avait pas de siège devant les sorties de secours.
Quelque 21 heures après le début du détournement, 18 militaires israéliens déguisés en techniciens, parmi lesquels les actuels Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahou [photo: félicité par le Président d'Israël Zalman Shazar) et ministre de la Défense Ehud Barak prirent l’appareil d’assaut. Deux terroristes furent tués et tous les passages libérés, sains et saufs.
Considéré comme un héros par Israël, M. Levy reçut des menaces de Septembre noir qui l’obligèrent à s’installer un temps en Afrique du Sud avant de revenir à Bruxelles. Il prit sa retraite dans les années 80, après trois décennies passées au service de la Sabena."
Source: IDF (via Elder of Ziyon) - Men In White: The Raid on Sabena Flight 571. What’s so special about Flight 571?
On May 8, 1972, a flight from Belgian airline Sabena set off from Vienna towards Tel Aviv, named Flight 571. Twenty minutes after takeoff, it was hijacked by four terrorists–two men, two women–from the Black September terror group. This set off a series of events leading up to Operation Isotope–one of the most daring rescue operations in the history of Israel.
Following the terrorists’ attempt to break into the cockpit, Reginald Levy, the plane’s captain, kept his cool and attempted to relax his passengers by entertaining them through a loudspeaker conversation with the terrorists, about everything from navigation to sex.
Captain Reginald Levy, who piloted the Sabena Flight 571. "I talked about everything under the sun, from navigation to sex."
Aboard the plane, the terrorists were demanding the release of 315 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, claiming they would blow up the plane if their demands were not met.
Captain Levy sent in distress signals, which were received by Israeli Security Minister Moshe Dayan. Dayan immediately began negotiations with the terrorists, while simultaneously planning a covert rescue operation: Operation Isotope.
The Sabena flight reached Tel-Aviv, landing in Lod Airport (now Ben-Gurion Airport). Captain Levy was sent out to show the waiting Israelis a sample of the explosives on the plane, to convince them of the threat. Aboard the plane, passengers were crying or hysterical.
A team of 16 elite commandos (Hebrew: Sayeret Matkal) approached the grounded aircraft in white overalls, disguised as airplane technicians. They convinced the terrorists that the aircraft was in desperate need of repairs.
Elite commandos disguised as airplane technicians in white attempt to board the aircraft.
Within ten minutes of boarding the plane, the squad of elite commandos managed to kill the two male terrorists, arrest the two female terrorists, and neutralize the threat to the passengers. Nearly all civilians on board were unharmed, except for three, one of whom later died from her injuries. Among the commandos were Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu–both of whom eventually became Israeli prime ministers.
Ehud Barak, third disguised airplane technician from the left holding the handgun, walks off the plane after successfully completing the operation with his team.
The surviving female terrorists were sentenced to life in Israeli prison, but were later released in the prisoner exchange deal following the 1982 Lebanon War.
Black September members were also involved in the notorious 1972 Munich massacre, where 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually murdered.
Black September terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of the Israeli Olympic team
Black September operatives were also targeted in Operation Spring of Youth, which involved elite Sayeret soldiers sneaking into Beirut dressed as women.
What happened to the plane after the hijacking?
The same airplane that was victim to the hijacking was flown for an additional five years before being sold to the Israeli Air Force (IAF). The IAF ended up using it to carry out spy missions.
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