Word: airbuses
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...brutality. By week's end the terrorists had butchered at least four of their captives, including two Americans. They freed 146 hostages, but for the dozen or so men who remained on board, tied to their seats, conditions were said to be horrendous. There were reports that the Airbus had been disabled late Friday night by bursts of gunfire that shattered windows in the cockpit and cabin. A freed Pakistani passenger said the hostages had tried unsuccessfully to overpower their captors. The Iranian government news agency claimed that the hijackers would soon "put all the Americans aboard the plane...
There were no signs that the Iranians, who were giving the events extensive television coverage, were prepared-or able-to end the terror aboard the Airbus. Said Robert Oakley, director of the U.S. State Department Office of Counterterrorism: "We feel there is a great deal of sympathy, if not support and active collusion, on the part of the Iranian government." President Reagan declared at a press conference that the Iranians "have not been as helpful as they could be in this situation, or as I think they should have been." But he left open the possibility that Tehran might have...
...plane had been airborne no more than 15 minutes when the men took control of the aircraft and ordered the pilot to turn the Airbus toward Iran. One Kuwaiti was reportedly shot and wounded in the leg during the brief scuffle. Tehran has gained a reputation as a haven for air pirates ever since three terrorists diverted...
France 737 jet to Mehrabad Airport last July. But Iran was not so quick to put out the welcome mat early last Tuesday for the latest hijackers. The control tower in Tehran refused at first to give the Airbus permission to land and agreed only after the pilot sent a message that he was running low on fuel. The plane was immediately shunted off to a remote runway and surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, police and emergency vehicles...
...radio negotiations dragged on between the plane and control towers in Tehran and Kuwait, the hijackers pressed their demands. Finally, they agreed to let some of the 161 on board the Airbus leave. First, 46 women and children, including an American married to a Pakistani, and her daughter, made their way across the airstrip. All had been stripped of their personal papers and any identifying documents. They were followed by 23 Pakistanis and, later in the week, by a group of 30 men. The terrorists let eight more hostages go on Friday, and at week's end they released...