Office of the Historian

204. Paper Prepared by the NEA Working Group in the Department of State Operations Center1

Washington, September 7, 1970.

Situation Report as of 0600 Hours EST, September 7, 1970

Two of the jet airliners (TWA 741 and Swissair 100) hijacked on September 6 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are at an airstrip about 30 miles east of Amman, Jordan, while the third (Panam 93), a Boeing 747 jumbojet, was blown up after landing at Cairo.

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Status of TWA and Swissair Passengers Unclear. A high Jordanian official informed our Embassy that the 145 passengers aboard TWA 741 “were being released” and would be transported to Amman by Army units. However, a PFLP spokesman reportedly told the local TWA agent in Amman that American, British, Israeli, West German, and Swiss nationals would be held. It can not be immediately determined how many of the 145 TWA and 155 Swissair passengers are of these nationalities, but it is believed that about 90 Americans and perhaps as many as 50 Israelis are among the Swissair passengers.

Panam Boeing 747 Destroyed. Panam 93 was blown up after the 170 persons aboard were evacuated. All are believed safe, although five or six were hospitalized with undetermined injuries. Panam has dispatched a Boeing 707 to Cairo to transport the passengers to New York. UAR authorities have apprehended three of the hijackers and are seeking a fourth.

PFLP Demands Release of Fedayeen. According to news reports, the PFLP has made three demands for release of the aircraft and passengers: 1) release and return to Amman of three PFLP commandos imprisoned in Switzerland; 2) return to Amman of the commando killed in the abortive El Al hijacking and release of his female accomplice; and 3) release of three fedayeen being held in West Germany. A fourth demand, relayed by the PFLP office in Beirut, calls for the release of all fedayeen held in Israel.

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 330, Subject Files, Hijackings. Confidential. The NEA Working Group was formed to coordinate information and responses to the hijacking crisis. (Ibid.)↩