Germans free hostages on hijacked plane in Somalia 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 18 1977)


Video: '1977: The Airplane: Palestinian Terrorists Hijack Lufthansa Plane'

(Tuesday, October 18, 1977, at 2:07 a.m. EAT) — Ninety minutes before a threatened massacre deadline, a West German commando unit stormed a hijacked Lufthansa airliner today on an airport runway in Mogadishu, Somalia, ending a five-day, 6,000-mile hijacking episode by shooting the four terrorists (three were killed) and freeing all 86 hostages unharmed.