Sabena Flight 571 Hijacking

Sabena Flight 571 took off from Vienna, Austria, on May 8, 1972. It was quickly diverted by four terrorists of the Black September Organization. While pretending to negotiate with the terrorists, the former Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan arranged a commando operation composed of IDF elite soldiers to rescue the hostages. The plan succeeded.

Black September threatens to blow up the plane

Sabena Flight 571 had only a few moments of calm after taking off. Twenty minutes later, the terrorists infiltrated into the cockpit to take control of the aircraft. Although attacked and threatened, Captain Levy did his best to keep the passengers calm and avoid panic by engaging in conversation with the terrorists on various topics, and reassuring passengers: "As you can see, we have friends on board!"

The attack was arranged by Ali Hassan Salameh, one of the leading personalities in Black September. The hijacking was led by four terrorists, including two women, who demanded the release of 315 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. Behind the doors of the cockpit, Captain Levy realized that the determination of the terrorists was to blow up the plane if their requirements were not satisfied.

He then decided to send signals of distress that were received by Israel and by the Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan. The plane made an emergency landing at the Lod airport. Without waiting, Dayan immediately began negotiations with the terrorists of the Black September group while simultaneously planning a secret rescue operation, nicknamed “Isotope”.

Israeli agents were activated to discreetly sabotage the aircraft and thus prevent it from leaving. The terrorists believed it was a technical failure in the plane.

IDF rescues the hostages

The next morning, the terrorists decided to send Captain Levy to talk with the Israelis in the airport with a sample of the explosives that they had brought on board. He took the opportunity to explain the situation on board in detail to the Israeli government: he described the terrorists, and gave essential information about their positions and the location of the explosives. He also said that the terrorists had forgotten to block the emergency exits.

With this new information, Moshe Dayan promised the terrorists they would repair the plane and transport the released prisoners to the airport. False prisoners appeared as well as an airplane, supposed to transfer them to Cairo, landed on the runway.

21 hours after the beginning of the hostage situation, commandos of the elite Matkal unit, disguised as technicians, headed to the aircraft. The commander of the unit was Ehud Barak, with Benjamin Netanyahu under his command. They approached the plane ostensibly to undertake repairs.

Instead, they penetrated by surprise via emergency exits, and opened fire in the cabin.

In minutes, the elite commando unit eliminated the two male terrorists, and arrested the two female terrorists. They saved all passengers with the exception of an injured woman, who succumbed to her injuries a few hours later.

The two terrorists were sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel. They were later released as part of an exchange of prisoners. The first in 1979 and the second in 1983. 

The heroes of the operation: men in the service of the nation

Captain Levy is considered a hero in Israel for his coolness and the quality of information provided during the hostage situation. He was thanked by Golda Meir, the Prime Minister at that time. 

Captain Levy died at the age of 88 in August 2010. Ehud Barak, commander of Sayeret Matkal during the operation, later became IDF Chief of Staff, then Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.