All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S18E15.The.Killing.Machine.1080p.SMIT.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

[engine roars]

FLIGHT ATTENDANT
(OVER LOUDSPEAKER):

Ladies and gentlemen, we
are starting our approach.

PILOT: We lost both engines.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT (OVER
LOUDSPEAKER): Put the mask

over your nose--
emergency descent.

PILOT: Mayday.
Mayday.

WOMAN: Brace for impact.

MAN: That last one.

[man on radio]

MAN: It's going to crash.

[erie music]

NARRATOR: A giant
aircraft stands

on the tarmac at Marseilles
airport in France.

It's been taken over
by hijackers, who

plan to commit one
of the deadliest

terrorist attacks in history.

[gunshots]

The men are heavily armed and
carry powerful explosives.

The French Prime Minister
faces a terrible dilemma--

storm the plane, lose
173 passengers and crew.

But let it take
off, and there will

be an even bigger price to pay.

This will become a
blueprint for defeating

a terrorist hijacking.

With eyewitness testimony
and video recordings,

this is the inside story of
the hijacking the world forgot.

It's Christmas Eve 1994.

An Air France jet is on final
approach to Algiers airport.

It's the early morning
flight from Paris

to this former French colony
on the north coast of Africa.

The plane is an Airbus A300,
with a crew of 12 on board.

Three greens.

NARRATOR: This is
no ordinary landing.

Algeria is in a
state of civil war.

The area around the
airport has been

the scene of fierce fighting.

There's a very real
threat of missiles

being fired at the plane
as it comes in to land.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: The
flights to Algiers

are only done by
volunteers because

of the terrorist threat.

We're all aware of it.

We accept the risk.

NARRATOR: It is so
dangerous that Air France,

the French state
airline, has asked

its government if it
really needs to continue

these flights to Algiers.

So far, there has been no reply.

100 feet.

50 feet.

20 feet.

We have pressed engage.

NARRATOR: The captain of
Air France Flight 8969

is Bernard Dhellemme, a
highly experienced pilot.

This is his first ever
television interview.

The events are still so
threatening to him that he'll

only appear in silhouette.

BERNARD DHELLEMME:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: There were
some security measures, like

on any other flight,
and a few extra ones

since we were in Algiers.

But at my level, I had no
qualms about flying there.

Even now, 10 years
later, I can still say

that I like doing an Algiers.

NARRATOR: The plane will
only be on the ground

for the short time
it takes to clean,

refuel, and board the passengers
for the return flight.

They are predominantly
Algerians, but many are French.

Three years earlier,
Islamic fundamentalists

had won the elections
there, hoping

to install an Islamic State.

But then the
military seized power

and imprisoned their leaders.

Since then, Algeria has
descended into chaos.

ZAHIDA KAKACHI:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Like
every other year,

I had decided to come and
spend the holidays in France,

and I had a cousin with me.

I was chief stewardess
at Air Algeria,

and I wouldn't take any
other flight but Air Algeria

normally.

But when I arrived
at the airport,

there were no seats left.

The flight was full.

But an Air France booking agent
suggested that I take the Air

France flight, so I did.

At least I'd be
certain of taking off.

NARRATOR: Boarding
Is nearly over.

But then another
sign of a fraught

security situation-- police
board the plane for one

more check.

Presidential police--
you two take the rear.

Police-- nobody move, please.

Presidential police-- we're
carrying out an identity check.

- All right.
- No, you stay here.

We'll handle it.

It'd be best if I
made an announcement.

OK, go ahead.

Ladies and
gentlemen, good day.

This is your captain speaking.

There will be a short
delay while the police

will come through the cabin
to carry out a passport check.

Please, remain seated.

And we apologize for
the inconvenience.

We should be on our way shortly.

Passport.

Passport.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: When they came
towards us, they were armed.

And that's really unusual.

Passports, please.

NARRATOR: This unauthorized
delay to Flight 8969

is making the
military suspicious.

Algerian special forces,
known as The Ninjas,

are already heading
towards the plane.

ZAHIDA KAKACHI:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I
looked outside, and I

could see the Ninjas out there,
the Algerian special forces.

I said to myself, why are
there so many of them?

Tarut.

ZAHIDA KAKACHI:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Tarut
means infidels.

And when he said that,
I knew straightaway

that they were terrorists.

There it was.

All of you, get to the back.

Hurry.

Shut that voice of Satan.

Sit down.

You two, don't move.

Nobody move.

We are not the police.

We are mujahideen.

NARRATOR: The men are not
police, but terrorists.

They belong to a violent
group of Muslim extremists.

They aim to force an
Islamic State on Algeria

no matter what it takes.

And seizing the plane
is part of that plan.

We will succeed, insha'Allah.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: When
that happened, it was

like a rock falling, like lead.

I don't know which.

It was horrifying.

Look at this!

This is a very powerful bomb.

There are others just like it
ready for a great fireworks

show in the sky.

We are the mujahedeen
of the people.

God has chosen us to die
and you to die with us.

NARRATOR: The leader,
25-year-old Abdul Abdullah

Yahia is a notorious killer.

There is nothing to fear.

God awaits us all in
his heavenly paradise.

NARRATOR: Outside,
news spreads quickly.

And reporters
arrive on the scene.

[camera clicks]

In Paris, the French Prime
Minister is urgently recalled

from his Christmas holiday.

It's an international crisis.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I spent
the whole afternoon

on the phone trying to find
out exactly what was going on.

It was pretty confused.

The Algerian authorities
were determined to get tough.

And it was difficult to
discuss the problem with them.

Give me your jacket, captain.

NARRATOR: Back in
Algiers, the terrorists

decide to put on the
flight crew's uniforms

to confuse any army snipers.

Meanwhile, in the cabin,
one of the terrorists

is not happy with what he sees.

Cover your head.

Cover your head more.

You too.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Their
Islamic customs

were not being respected.

Men and women sharing the
same toilets, sitting next

to each other, and above
all, women with their heads

uncovered, that was
intolerable for Lotfi,

and it threw him into a rage.

Lotfi's character
is very peculiar.

We called him "the mad
man" because, really,

he was always on a knife edge.

He had fits of rage.

He was always on
the brink of fury.

What he saw there in the
cabin was intolerable for him.

He had to cover these women up.

NARRATOR: Now, two hours
into the hijacking,

the terrorists want to talk
to the Algerian military.

Yes.

You in the tower,
we have taken control

of this Air France flight.

We are the armed Islamic group.

Do you hear me?

Do you understand?

Do you hear me?

What is wrong with this thing?

They don't hear me.

They couldn't
hear you because you

both talked at the same time.

You have to start again.

You tell them.

Do it.

Air France 8969--

what do you want me to say?

NARRATOR: The terrorists
order Captain Dhellemme

to take off for Paris.

They say they're going to
hold a press conference there.

But the plane can't move.

The passenger boarding
stairs are still attached.

And the Algerian
authorities have parked

vehicles to block the runways.

BERNARD DHELLEMME:
Air France 8969--

the passenger boarding
stairs are still in place.

Please, remove them immediately.

I'll repeat it one more time.

NARRATOR: It meets
with a blank refusal.

Things are starting to go
wrong for the hijackers.

The Algerian strategy is to
not give way on a single point.

But it's a dangerous policy,
as they are soon to find out.

ABDUL ABDULLAH YAHIA: We are
going to blow up the world.

We are going to blow up the
plane and every one in it.

Do you hear me?

Do you hear me?

NARRATOR: Armed terrorists
have hijacked an Air

France jet at Algiers airport.

They want to leave
for Paris, but

the government won't let them.

It's a stalemate for the moment.

I'll say it one more time.

Please, remove the
boarding stairs

so that we can leave for Paris.

You think we are joking?

We will show you
how we are joking.

We are soldiers of God.

We are ready to die.

We will show them.

NARRATOR: The terrorists
are about to send a message

to the Algerian government.

During the passport
check, they have

identified among the
passengers an officer

of the Algerian police.

ZAHIDA KAKACHI:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Then
two rows behind me,

there was a policeman.

TERRORIST: Can you
come with us, please?

We need your help.

INTERPRETER: He asked the
policeman to follow him.

It's crazy.

I don't know if he knew.

But he was very hesitant.

He was walking, but reluctantly
because he didn't knew what

was going to happen to him.

Open the door, please.

So, please take our
message to the government.

[gunshot]

NARRATOR: Few passengers
are aware of the murder,

nor are the pilots.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: The first contact
we were allowed with the cabin

was when a stewardess was
allowed into the cockpit

to see if we wanted anything.

I said we'd like
a glass of water

because it was hard to
swallow, as you can imagine.

Our throats were very dry.

Just then, she
whispered to me, they've

already killed a passenger.

I was dumbfounded
because we had no idea.

We'd heard nothing.

NARRATOR: But the passengers
are growing more concerned

about what's going on outside.

There are signs that the
Algerian special forces are

preparing for an armed assault.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD
THROUGH INTERPRETER :

The biggest worry that we
all had was that the Ninjas,

the Algerian special forces,
would attack the plane.

Things were going on
inside the plane, sure.

But anything that would
come from the outside

would upset things,
and that scared us.

NARRATOR: As French
interior minister,

Charles Pasqua knows exactly
how the Ninjas operate.

CHARLES PASQUA:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: They
were trained by us.

We were taking a considerable
risk by letting this plane stay

in Algiers because we knew that,
although the Algerian forces

were perfectly capable
of ending the siege,

it would have ended
in a bloodbath.

NARRATOR: The Algerian military
maintained their hard line.

So the terrorists are about
to raise the stakes again.

Another passenger must die.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: When they came
for the second passenger,

we knew things were going wrong.

This passenger,
he was different.

He was Vietnamese, a diplomat.

He was the real
foreigner on this plane.

This passenger was not
cowed by their terror,

and that must have
bothered them.

NARRATOR: The
Vietnamese diplomat

believes that, as an outsider,
he is being released.

[gunshot]

[cries and gasps]

BERNARD DHELLEMME THROUGH
INTERPRETER: The stewardess

went back to the cabin and
came back with a bottle

of water and some glasses.

She served us and
whispered, it's not one now.

It's two.

Immediately, I realized that
we had really hit the jackpot.

NARRATOR: As the hours go by,
the crew and the passengers

begin to recognize the different
personalities of the four men.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: To make things
simpler, we gave them names.

"Yaya" gave us his name
straightaway, so that was easy.

He was in charge.

He looked a little
bit like a student.

He was friendly
enough, very calm,

except when he flew into a rage.

And then he would
act like a gangster.

Lotfi, the madman, was the
one who insisted we follow

their laws, the one who
was the most fanatic,

the most fundamentalist.

The third one
didn't have a name.

We called him Bill.

He was a little bit simple.

We wondered what
he was doing there.

And you could see him
wondering the same thing.

Then finally, there
was the killer.

It was he who did
the shooting and who

cleaned his gun afterwards
without any remorse or feeling.

I wonder if he knew
what he was doing.

NARRATOR: In Algiers,
it's stalemate.

Neither side is giving way.

In Paris, the French
leaders are frustrated.

They believe their own
special forces could bring

the hijacking to a safe end.

But the Algerians refuse to let
foreign troops in to sort out

an Algerian problem.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I asked the
Algerian authorities, extremely

forcefully and urgently, to let
the plane take off because I

considered that it was a French
plane belonging to Air France,

which, although it had on
board a majority of Algerians,

had dozens of French there too.

So it was for us to
solve the problem.

NARRATOR: Night falls.

Air France Flight 8969 is
pinned down by spotlights.

The passengers have now been
held hostage for seven hours.

Initial panic has given
way to a tense calm.

Few realize that two
passengers have been murdered.

The crew is working hard
to defuse the situation.

Here, for instance,
it's the APU--

Auxiliary Power Unit.

INTERPRETER: The role of
a crew in these conditions

is to keep things
calm, to earn trust,

to keep things going,
which is very important.

At the start of hostage-taking,
it's always violent.

You have to buy
time to calm people,

to show what you're
like, to find

out who they are and so on, and
then try to gain their trust.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: There
was the conversion

to Islam of two stewardesses,
of whom I was one.

It was a request
from the terrorists.

I don't have any
disrespect for believers,

but if it could help
calm the terrorists down,

then I didn't have any
problem faking a conversion.

ABDUL ABDULLAH YAHIA: We are
going to blow up the world.

We are going to blow up the
plane and every one in it.

Do you hear me?

Do you hear me?

NARRATOR: Through the night,
the threats and ultimatums

continue.

But the Algerian government
will not give in.

It's a battle of wills.

After a restless night,
the passengers wake up.

It's Christmas morning.

During the night,
the French government

has decided to send its
special forces to the island

of Mallorca, as close to Algeria
as possible without being

accused of interfering.

Colonel Denis Favier
was then a major

in charge of the
French counterterrorist

unit, the GIGN.

Since the hijacking, it's
feared that terrorists have

put a price on his
head, and he doesn't

want his face to be seen.

DENIS FAVIER: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: The decision was
taken to send GIGN to Mallorca.

An Air France aircraft
was put at our disposal,

identical in every respect
to the hijacked aircraft,

as well as an experienced crew
who knew the technical side,

all the details of the plane.

NARRATOR: En route to Mallorca,
Major Denis Favier's men

have familiarized themselves
with every detail of the A300

Airbus, with the expectation
that they will get

the chance to attack the plane.

Back in Algiers, the terrorists
release some passengers, mainly

women with young
children or people

with serious medical conditions.

But there are still over
170 people on board,

a handful for the
four young terrorists.

And the passengers are not who
they thought they would be.

DENIS FAVIER: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I don't
know how the terrorists

organized their business.

They certainly put a
lot of thought into it.

They obviously wanted to
seize a symbol of France,

and Air France is
a national symbol.

But perhaps they didn't
realize that in an Air

France plane at Algiers,
most of the passengers

would be Algerians.

NARRATOR: 138 of the passengers
are Algerian citizens.

The terrorists offer to
release them, leaving only

the French nationals on board.

A gruesome indication,
perhaps, of their final plan.

However, the Algerian
passengers refuse to leave.

DENIS FAVIER: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: It's true
that in Algiers they

were going to free
some of the passengers,

and they refused to get off.

I think that one of
them said, if we leave,

then afterwards they're
going to kill the crew.

So I'm going to stay.

I think that this
man was sincere.

I can't explain it,
but it was the truth.

NARRATOR: The Algerian
government has another trick

up its sleeve, as
they look for ways

to end the terrorist hijacking
of Air France Flight 8969.

They've managed to identify
the terrorist leader, Yahia,

and bring his mother to
the microphone to try

to weaken her son's resolve.

Ma, I love you,
but I love God more.

TERRORIST'S MOTHER:
--kill your fellow Muslim.

NARRATOR: The Algerian
government's tactic misfires.

It sends Yahia into
a boiling rage.

They went and got my mother.

Can you imagine that, my mother?

They went and dragged
my mother over here.

How many French are back there?

One man and woman.

Go get the man.

What do they think
they're playing at?

What do they think
they're doing?

ZAHIDA KAKACHI:
[non-english speech]

INTERPRETER: He was furious.

He had no intention
of changing his mind.

Even the love of his
mother, even his mother

couldn't do anything.

NARRATOR: Until
now, the terrorists

haven't targeted
any French citizens,

but their time has come.

Two staff members of
the French Embassy

are on board, a secretary
and a young chef.

OK, now we will teach you
how to play games with us.

Are you listening to me?

You tell them that if they
don't let the plane take off,

we will kill every single
passenger one by one.

Tell them.

My name is Yanic Bernier.

I work at the embassy.

They're threatening to kill us.

If you do nothing, they'll
start the executions.

You've got to do something
and quickly, quick as you can.

We care nothing for you.

We are soldiers of God.

We'll kill him, and we'll
throw him outside the door.

You can come and pick him up.

Get me a magazine.

He was terrified, Yanic.

He was looking at me,
but he was terrified.

Was he pleading
with me to help him?

Was he?

You two, be better off
going back to your places.

Go.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I was saying to
myself, no, it's not possible.

It can't happen like this.

It's not possible.

[gunshot]

Oh.

This can't be.

[frightened chatter]

NARRATOR: The Door
Open warning light

confirms that the terrorists
have carried out their threat.

Air France 8969--

you happy now?

See what you get
when you play tough.

PHILIPPE LEGORJUS:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: We
witnessed at a distance

the execution of this man.

It was something we lived
through with great emotion

in Paris because we were
patched into the conversations

between the plane and
the control tower.

NARRATOR: The French
government can no

longer stand by and do nothing.

Prime Minister Balladur
gets on the phone

and threatens his
Algerian counterpart.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I told him that
I would hold the Algerian

government responsible
for what happened

and make it known to
international opinion.

NARRATOR: Balladur's
threat works.

The Algerian president caves in.

Finally, after 39
hours of terror,

Flight 8969 can
leave for France.

But there's a problem.

All the time they've
been on the ground,

the captain has kept the
auxiliary power unit running.

It's a small jet engine in
the tail of the plane, which

keeps the power supply going.

It uses around four
tons of fuel a day.

Now, there isn't enough to
reach Paris, only Marseilles on

the southern coast of France.

Navigation lights.

On.

Air conditioning packs.

NARRATOR: After
two days of terror

and the death of
three passengers,

flight 8969 prepares
to take off for France.

The terrorists say
they're going to hold

a press conference there.

The crew are relieved
to be going home.

Both they and the passengers
believe that whatever

the future holds, it
can't be as bad as what

they're leaving behind.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD
THROUGH INTERPRETER:

We have two terrorists strapped
in their seats in the cockpit,

and they're so excited.

They're like kids,
excited, happy.

What's more, they'd succeeded.

NARRATOR: At 3:30 in the
morning on the 26th of December,

the plane approaches
Marseilles airport.

They're unaware that
major Denis Favier

and his French special
forces have gotten

there ahead of
them from Mallorca

and are now planning a showdown.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Normally
you arrive on ground

that's held by the enemy.

But here, it's the enemy who
is going to arrive on ground

where you are in total control.

And that's a key element in
the success of the operation.

50 feet.

20 feet.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD
THROUGH INTERPRETER:

For the terrorists,
it's the magic moment.

We are landing in France.

We'll get fuel.

We'll get provisions to take
off again and go to Paris

because that's the objective.

The airport is very dark.

There were the lights of the
plane and the little car, the

follow-me car, which we follow.

And we do not go
to the terminal.

NARRATOR: Captain
Dhellemme is being

deliberately led away
from the terminal

to a remote corner
of the airfield.

Tension is very high because
the French government has

received some alarming news.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: While the plane
was flying towards France,

we received other information,
according to which

the terrorists plan
to use the plane

carry out an attack on Paris.

The information was credible,
and we took it seriously.

So, the decision was made that,
no matter what, the plane would

not take off from Marseilles.

No matter how high
the price may be,

the plane would not take off.

We picked a very precise
spot for the plane to park,

and then we just
played for time.

[camera clicks]

NARRATOR: The hijacking
of Air France flight 8969

has now gone on for
almost two days.

The French tactics
will now be dictated

by major Denis Favier, commander
of the French special forces,

the GIGN.

His plan is to wear the
terrorists down while always

appearing conciliatory.

The French will spin
out negotiations

as long as possible.

They know that Yahia and
his men must be tired.

At this time we require
immediate refueling.

27 tons.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD: 27 tons.

NARRATOR: The terrorists have
learned from the flight crew

that 27 tons of fuel
will fill the tanks,

far more than the nine
tons needed for the journey

to Paris.

It appears to confirm
the intelligence

report that the plane is
to be used as a fire bomb.

They say it's not possible
because of the killings,

because of what
happened in Algiers.

It's in all the papers.

The workers who do the
refueling are afraid.

They won't come near the plane.

Tell them we want to go now.

We'll do a press
conference in Paris.

Air France 8969-- we'll
leave for Paris right away.

They wish to hold a press
conference in Paris.

They say why go to Paris while
all the international press

has come here to Marseilles.

They're all here.

Why do a press
conference in Paris?

There's no point.

We can't do it
here on the plane.

NARRATOR: Major Favier
has baited the hook.

Will Yahia bite?

Tell them we want CNN.

Tell them we want CNN.

Air France 8969--

they want to speak to CNN.

NARRATOR: The terrorists
agree to a press conference

aboard the plane, little
realizing that it's

all part of a clever plan.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Tactically, this
press conference was important

because it enabled us to
get some of the passengers

moved to the rear of the plane.

NARRATOR: The negotiators ask
that the front of the plane

be cleared for the
press conference.

The real reason is to
create a clear area

for the French special forces
when they storm the plane.

Because what the
terrorists don't realize

is that the planes doors can
be opened from the outside.

By now the plane has been
sitting on Marseilles'

taxiway for 12 hours.

The French special forces know
how many terrorists there are

and where they are.

It's believed the French special
forces planted microphones

in the fuselage of the plane.

Now they're waiting
for the sun to go down

to take advantage of the dark.

On the plane, they
know nothing of this.

They're still waiting
for the press to arrive.

Tower, 8969--
everything's ready here.

You can send the press now.

8969-- what-- what do you
mean they're not ready?

No, no, no, no, no, no.

You said they were
ready over an hour ago,

and you were going to get them.

Come on, there's
not much time left.

There must be hundreds
of journalists there.

This will be the biggest
scoop of their careers.

They're up to something.

We can't stay here.

I assure you, it's--

Captain, move the
plane over there.

I promise you, we'll be--

Captain, move it right now.

Do it.

Move the plane over there
where the other ones are.

We'll be fine.
I-- I promise.

Move the planes.

Go over there where
the other ones are.

Do it.

Do it.

Let's go.

Start engines.

NARRATOR: Suddenly, all Major
Favier's plans are in disarray.

Yahia, the terrorist leader,
now has the initiative.

DENIS FAVIER: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Tactically for
us the situation was very bad.

Our positions were based on the
plane being parked at point A,

and all of a sudden
it's at point B.

So we have to
reorganize very quickly.

NARRATOR: Captain
Dhellemme is forced

to park right at the
foot of the tower, close

to the terminal
and other flights.

If they blow up the
plane now, the casualties

could be enormous.

Tell them it's too late now.

They won't back off,
but it's too late.

It should have been done.

Tell him to fill the tanks.

We're leaving.

They have until 5 o'clock.

At 5 o'clock, we're taking off.

Tell them, captain.

Do it.

I've had it.

Do it.

Air France 8969--

NARRATOR: Major Favier
is having his men

picked up as fast as possible
to move to new positions.

He puts snipers on the
terminal roof, where they'll

have a view of the cockpit.

He only has a few
minutes to set up

his emergency plan,
a cavalry charge

of passenger boarding stairs.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Three air stairs
and 30 men, this is the plan.

Penetrate by the two rear doors
with two teams of 11 men each

at the rear right
and rear left doors,

and then a penetration by
a smaller team of eight

men at the front right door
to gain control of the cockpit

since we know that the terrorist
leader is in the cockpit.

Our intention is to
cut off the cockpit

from the rest of the plane.

NARRATOR: By 5 o'clock, no
fuel has been delivered.

The authorities have no
intention of allowing

the plane to take off.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: 5
o'clock comes round,

and there It's the moment when
Yahia has to do something.

NARRATOR: The hijackers know
they are in the end game.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: They discovered
there was a public address,

and they started reciting
verses from the Koran.

It was very difficult because
it was the prayers for the dead.

We had to prepare
ourselves for death.

We were going to die as martyrs.

God was waiting for us.

There was silence, and all of a
sudden it was a state of panic.

[non-english speech]

NARRATOR: By 5 o'clock, still
no fuel has been delivered

to Air France Flight 8969.

The hijackers know
the French negotiators

are in the control tower.

They decide to send
them a message.

[gunshots]

TERRORIST:
[non-english shouting]

PHILIPPE LEGORJUS:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: One
of the terrorists

opened the side
window of the cockpit

and hosed down
the control tower.

Glass shattered all around us.

We were literally
machine gunned.

BERNARD DHELLEMME
THROUGH INTERPRETER:

Since we had landed
in Marseilles,

there had been some
moments of tension,

but nothing like what seemed
to be about to happen.

We're going to succeed
in our mission, captain.

Don't worry about that.

NARRATOR: Major
Favier has been given

carte blanche by
the French Prime

Minister Edouard Balladur.

He decides the moment
has come to act.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: When the
terrorists started firing

with an automatic
weapon on the tower,

there was danger
inside the plane.

So we now had justification
for an armed attack.

That attack was carried
out from the air stairs,

which are mobile vehicles.

They're coming.

They're coming.

The tarut are coming.

[non-english shouting]

DENIS FAVIER: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: At that
moment, everybody

understood, them
and us, that it was

the beginning of the assault.

NARRATOR: The cavalry
charge is underway.

This is actual
footage of the attack.

DENIS FAVIER: [speaking french]

INTERPRETER: There
are eight of us

on the front right air stair.

The first air stair
gets to the aircraft.

There's a small problem
with the height,

as it was a little bit
higher than the door.

The door hits the top of the
air stair, a slight step back.

The door opens.

The air stair touches the
plane, and the group goes in.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD
THROUGH INTERPRETER:

Then it's the apocalypse.

[gunshot]

Get down.

Get down.

Don't move.

DENIS FAVIER THROUGH
INTERPRETER: And then the group

that has gone in comes
under a deluge of fire

from the terrorists who
shoot at everyone who enters,

an extremely murderous fire.

There's not a moment's
doubt about the nature

of this gunfire.

They are shooting to kill.

NARRATOR: At the
rear of the plane,

the other two squads
of Favier's men enter.

Move.
Go.

Go.

Go.

CHRISTOPHE MORIN
THROUGH INTERPRETER:

So I hear, hands on your head.

Don't move.

Hide.

Get down as low as you can.

I just wished to escape.

The situation we were in
was extremely violent,

so I pulled the overcoat.

I had over my head
so I wouldn't see

the tracer bullets whizzing past
nor what was going on around.

NARRATOR: Hundreds of bullets
are whistling through the air.

Grenades are exploding.

There is smoke and
confusion everywhere.

BERNARD DHELLEMME
THROUGH INTERPRETER:

I was in a rather bad
spot, so I tried to make

myself as small as possible.

You stop breathing, and you
imagine that you're hard enough

to stop the bullets.

NARRATOR: The snipers
on the terminal roof

can see the terrorists
in the cockpit,

but frustratingly
can't get a clear shot.

The co-pilot is
blocking their view.

But that problem is
about to be solved.

[grunting]

Actual video footage shows the
co-pilot, Jean-Paul Borderie

falling onto the hard
concrete, yet he still manages

to stagger away to safety.

It gives the snipers the chance
they've been waiting for.

[gunshots]

[glass shattering]

[rapid gunfire]

Move.
Go.

Go.
Go.

NARRATOR: At the
rear of the cabin,

the French special forces
are evacuating the passengers

through a hail of gunfire.

But flight attendant
Christophe Moran

finds himself unable to escape.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I tried
to take with me

a woman, a passenger who
had been sitting next to me.

But she was too fat.

She could not come.

So we just held hands.

NARRATOR: Unbelievably,
only a few minutes

after the assault begins
most of the passengers

have been rescued.

By now only one
terrorist is left alive,

but he's going down fighting.

BERNARD DHELLEMME:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: There was
only the flight engineer

and me left in the cockpit.

We looked at each
other, and there's

just this one terrorist.

He looks at us, one
after the other.

His three colleagues are
here dead or nearly so.

Out of spite, he could
have killed both of us.

He didn't.

What more can I say?

NARRATOR: The French
news footage captures

amazing scenes of the battle.

A GIGN man is blasted out
of the plane by gunshots.

The final surviving
terrorist holds them

at bay for almost 20 minutes.

But his time and his
ammunition are running out.

[gunshot]

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: The flight engineer
and I looked at each other.

We knew exactly the
situation we were in.

As long as there were
gunshots, we knew we could die.

But once it stopped, or when
we thought it had stopped,

then we said, all
right, it's over.

NARRATOR: But it's not
over yet for the captain

and his flight engineer.

The GIGN are not sure
who are the terrorists

and how many are still alive.

Everyone is suspect.

The battle around
the cockpit has

been so fierce that
everyone believes

the flight crew are dead.

The French special forces
suspect that any survivors

may be terrorists in disguise.

The flight engineer is hustled
off the plane and handcuffed.

Get up.

Hands on top of your head.

I'm the captain of the plane.

I will get out, but not
with my hands on my head.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I would never have
left the cockpit with my hands

on my head.

After all I had been
through, I would

not be punished like a child.

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: When we saw
Bernard and Alain come out,

we couldn't believe it.

Alain was handcuffed, and his
shirt was covered in blood.

He said, I'm deaf.

I'm deaf.

But we said, yes,
but you're alive.

We told them, he's
our flight engineer.

Let him go.

It was incredible.

NARRATOR: For 20 minutes
the gun battle has raged

on board the crowded aircraft.

Hundreds of shots
have been fired.

Numerous grenades exploded.

Yet all 173 passengers
and crew have survived.

Captain Dhellemme himself
escaped with bullet wounds

to his right elbow and thigh.

CHARLES PASQUA
THROUGH INTERPRETER:

The crew had a specific
responsibility,

to save the hostages and
to safeguard the plane.

The crew in general, and
the captain in particular,

they all rose to the occasion.

NARRATOR: Nine of
the 30 GIGN men

have been wounded,
one seriously.

DENIS FAVIER
THROUGH INTERPRETER:

When I assessed the gravity
of the GIGN men's injuries,

and when we learned
that none were fatal,

then, yes, I could
consider that the operation

overall had been a success.

NARRATOR: Out of the 161
passengers who survived

the hijacking, only
a few have suffered

slight injuries, a huge relief
to the French Prime Minister.

EDOUARD BALLADUR:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I cannot say
that I was calm that day.

But I considered that
there was no other decision

to be made than the one I took.

So the only thing
that was left for me

was to hope that things
would unfold well.

And as a matter of fact, they
unfolded exceptionally well.

I would not have dreamed
that they would go that well.

NARRATOR: It was a
textbook mission,

one of the most successful
anti-terrorist operations ever

carried out.

All the French special
forces and the crew members

received high national
honors for their courage.

Later, a former leader of the
Algerian terrorist groups,

t
the plan had been to blow up

the plane over the
Eiffel Tower, the symbol

of the French nation.

Hundreds might have
been killed when

the plane crashed down onto
the crowded streets of Paris.

They never tried again.

And the world would
forget this hijacking

until seven years later.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I was
doing some shopping,

and I bumped into a friend
who said a plane has crashed

into the World Trade Center.

I went home and stayed
sitting in front

of the television for 24 hours.

I couldn't move or
eat or do anything.

All those images
came back to me.

And I asked myself, is that what
was supposed to happen to us?

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: I was convinced
that the terrorists wanted

to crash the plane over Paris.

To them, it would have
been a terrific feat.

crashing a plane on the Eiffel
Tower or the Elysee Palace

would be an extraordinary feat.

CLAUDE BURGNIARD:
[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Above
all, I kept thinking,

we had apprentice terrorists,
boys who didn't understand

very well what they were doing.

But voila, they taught
everyone a lesson.

[music playing]