- Uli Derickson
Ulrike Patzelt (
August 8 ,1944 –February 18 ,2005 ), better known as Uli Derickson, was aflight attendant during theJune 14 ,1985 hijacking ofTWA Flight 847 byOrganization for the Oppressed of the Earth terrorists, a group with alleged links toHezbollah . Derickson is credited with helping to protect 152 passengers and crew members.Born in what is now the
Czech Republic , Derickson and her parents were expelled toEast Germany in 1945. The family later escaped toWest Germany , and Derickson made it to theUnited States in 1967, where she became a flight attendant forTWA .Derickson was still working as a flight attendant for
Delta Air Lines when she received a diagnosis ofcancer in August 2003. She died onFebruary 18 ,2005 , at the age of 60.Flight 847
In 1985, on Flight 847 between
Athens andRome , her plane was hijacked. Derickson took a kick to the chest from one of the hijackers as he forced her to go with him into the cockpit. The other hijacker — who was holding a grenade with the pin removed — started kicking open the door. Once inside, they pistol-whipped the pilot and flight engineer.The two hijackers spoke almost no English, but Derickson was able to speak with one of them in German, eventually gaining their trust. This put her at the center of the drama for the next 55 hours as she translated the tense communication between the plane's crew and the hijackers. At one point, the crueler of the two hijackers asked her to marry him.
The plane was diverted first to
Beirut , where Derickson successfully pleaded with the hijackers to release 17 elderly women and two children.Later in the ordeal, a ground crew in
Algiers refused to refuel the plane without payment despite the terrorists' threat to kill passengers. It occurred to Derickson to offer her Shell Oil credit card. The ground crew charged about $5,500 for 6,000 gallons of fuel.Derickson was asked to sort through passenger passports to single out people with
Jewish -sounding names. Initial reports suggested that she had followed the orders, but the truth — that she had, in fact, hidden the passports — was later revealed.The plane flew back toward Beirut. The hijackers had earlier identified some American military personnel on the flight. They singled out
U.S. Navy diverRobert D. Stethem . After beating him severely with the arm of a chair, Stethem was shot and his body was dumped on the airport tarmac. Islamic militiamen boarded the plane to assist the hijackers. The plane then headed back toward Algiers.After about 36 hours, the terrorists released a second wave of hostages including Derickson and the 65 remaining women. The plane, now with only 39 American men onboard as hostages, flew back to Beirut where they were held for 17 days. The ordeal ended on June 30th after
Israel released 31 Lebanese prisoners, a fraction of the 766 the hijackers had demanded.Aftermath
Life was less than peaceful for Derickson after the hijacking ordeal ended. Unfounded reports, including some in the mainstream news media, that she had given the hijackers names of Jewish passengers on the flight, brought threats from extremist groups. When the truth about her efforts to shield Jewish passengers was verified, she received threats from others. Derickson’s family relocated from
Fredon, New Jersey toArizona .Derickson testified at the trial of
Mohammed Ali Hamadi , one of the hijackers convicted of murdering Stethem. He received a life sentence. She later advised TWA,Delta Air Lines and theFBI on crisis management.On December 15, 2005 the German government released Hamadi from prison and sent him back to Lebanon, where he joined his family. There are speculations that this was part of a deal to release the German hostage
Susanne Osthoff in Iraq.She had one son, Matthew, who resides in California.
Movie
A 1988
TV movie, "", appeared onNBC featuringLindsay Wagner as Derickson. It received fiveEmmy nominations. Derickson acted as a consultant on the film.The 1986 action film "
The Delta Force " also featured a flight attendant (played byHanna Schygulla ) loosely based on Derickson.External links
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/national/24derickson.html?oref=login New York Times] , Uli Derickson, 60, Who Helped Airline Hostages, Dies (Note: requires logon)
* [http://www.uliderickson.net/ Uli Derickson - Legacy of Courage]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23140698 Top Hezbollah militant slain]
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