Air Emergency (2003–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - The Killing Machine - full transcript

A giant aircraft stands on the tarmac
at Marseilles in France.

It's been taken over by hijackers

who are preparing
the worst terrorist atrocity

the world has so far seen.

GUNSHOTS

The Men are heavily armed and carrying powerful explosives

The French prime minister faces a terrible delima

Storm the plane lose 173 passengers and crew

but let it take off and will be a even 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.

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.

TRANSLATOR: The flights to Algiers
are only done by volunteers

because of the terrorist threat.

We're all aware of it.
We accept the risk.



So dangerous is it that Air France,
the French state airline,

has asked its government

if it really needs to continue
these flights to Algiers.

So far, there's been no reply.

100 feet.

50 feet.

20 feet.

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.

TRANSLATOR: 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.

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're mostly Algerians,
but many are French,

escaping for a while
the perils of life in Algeria.

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.

Boarding is nearly over,

but then...

Presidential police.

You two take the rear.

another sign
of the fraught security situation -

police board the plane
for one more check.

Police. Nobody move, please.

Presidential police. We're carrying
out an identity check.

No, stay here.
We'll handle it.

It'd be best
if I made an announcement.

Okay, go ahead.

Ladies and gentlemen, good day.
This is your captain speaking.

There will be a short delay while
police will come through the cabin

to carry out a passport check.

Please remain seated.
We apologise for the inconvenience.

We should be on our way shortly.

Passport.

Passport.

STEWARDESS: When they came
towards us, they were armed,

and that's really unusual.

Passports, please.

This unauthorised delay
to Flight 8969

is making the military suspicious.

Algerian Special Forces,
known as 'the ninjas',

are already heading
towards the plane.

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?"

(shouts in foreign language)

He shouted "infidels"...

..and when he said that,

I knew straightaway that
they were terrorists - there it was.

(shouts) All of you
get to the back! Hurry!

MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY
Shut that voice of Satan!

Sit down! You two, don't move.
Nobody move.

We're not the police.

We are Mujaheddin.

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!

STEWARDESS: 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 Mujaheddin
of the people!

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

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.

Outside, news spreads quickly
and reporters arrive at the scene.

In Paris, the French Prime Minister
is urgently recalled

from his Christmas holiday.

It's an international crisis.

TRANSLATOR: 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.

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.

TRANSLATOR: 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.

Now, two hours into the hijacking,

the terrorists want to talk
to the Algerian military.

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's wrong with this thing
if they don't hear me?

They couldn't hear 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?

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.

CAPTAIN: Air France 8969.

The passenger boarding stairs
are still in place.

Please remove them immediately.

They meet with a blank refusal.

Things are starting to go wrong
for the hijackers.

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

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

We're going to blow up the world!

We're going to blow up the plane
and everyone in it. Do you hear me?

Armed terrorists have highjacked 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're joking?
We will show you how we are joking.

We are soldiers of God.
We are ready to die.

We will show them.

The terrorists are about to send
a message to the Algerian government.

During the passport check,

they've identified
among the passengers

an officer of the Algerian police.

PASSENGER: Then two rows behind me,
there was a policeman.

TERRORIST: Can you come with us
please? We need your help.

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 know
what was going to happen to him.

Open the door, please.

Please take our message
to the government.

GUNSHOT

Few passengers
are aware of the murder.

Nor are the pilots.

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 I had no idea

We heard nothing

But the passenger are growing more concern

about what's going on outside

There are signs that the Algerian special forces are preparing for an armed assault

The biggest worry that we all had was that

the ninjas the Algerian special forces would attack the plane

Things were going on the plane sure...

but anything that will come from outside would upset things

and that scared us.

As French interior minister at the time

Charles Pascual knows exactly how the ninjas operate

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 this siege

It would have ended in a bloodbath

The Algerian military
maintained their hardline,

so the terrorists
are about to raise the stakes again.

Another passenger must die.

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've bothered them.

The Vietnamese diplomat believes that
as an outsider, he's being released.

GUNSHOT

The stewardess went back
to the cabin

and came back with a bottle of water
and glasses.

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

Immediately I realised that
we had really hit the jackpot.

The killer in the group is becoming increasily bizzare

The tallest one, the killer when we passed each other on the plane

he would take me behind the neck and kissed me on the forehead

and later on the meaning of this was more less confirmed to me

people told me that this could be seen as the kiss of death.

Finally Morin plucks up enough courage to voice his fears

Can I say something?

I want to ask you a favour

If you decide to kill me, I want you to promise me...

I don't want to be killed by a bullet in the back

because when I'll die I want to be able to see your face

What are you afraid of?

It's impossible not to be afraid of what's is going on on the plane

Don't need to worry, because if I'll kill you, you'll be a martyr

You will go straight to paradise

I can tell you that it didn't make feel any better

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.

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.

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 realise that two passengers
have been murdered.

The crew is working hard to diffuse
the situation.

All these buttons...
like, uh, here, for instance,

it's the APU,
auxiliary power unit...

CAPTAIN: 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 a 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.

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 the conversion

YAHIA: We're going
to blow up the world!

We're going to blow up the plane
and everyone in it.

Do you hear me? Do you hear me?!

Negotiations secured the release of 63 women and children

but still the Algerians won't let the plane go

Around 2:00 the Captain tours the cabin for first time

He finds two of the highjackers asleep on the floor

There were two of them
lying on the floor

between door 1 left
and door 1 right.

I thought, "Look, two of them
are asleep, one's at the rear,

"there's only one in the cockpit.

"If an assault took place now,
maybe it wouldn't be so bad."

But that's as far as it went.

It's Christmas morning.

During the night,

as the passengers have been stuggling to sleep

things have been happening

The French government has decided

to send its Special Forces
to the island of Majorca -

as close to Algeria as possible

without being accused of interfering.

Colonel Denis Favier
was then a major

in charge of the French
counter-terrorist 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.

The decision was taken
to send GIGN to Majorca.

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.

En route to Majorca,

Major Favier's men
have familiarised themselves

with every detail of the A300 Airbus

in the expectation that they will
get the chance to attack the plane.

The Algerian government
has another trick up its sleeve.

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

and bring his mother
to the microphone

to try and weaken her son's resolve.

(Mother pleads indistinctly)
Ma. Ma!

I love you, but I love God more.
MOTHER: ..kill your fellow Muslims.

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 you think
they're playing at?

What do they think they're doing?

PASSENGER: He was furious.

He had no intention
of changing his mind.

Even the love of his mother...

Even his mother
couldn't do anything.

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.

Okay, now we'll teach you
how to play games with us.

Are you listening to me?

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 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 - you're better off
going back to your places.

Go!

I was saying to myself,
"No, it's not possible.

"It can't happen like this.
It's not possible."

GUNSHOT

PANICKED MURMURS

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?

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 in
to the conversations

between the plane
and the control tower.

The French government can no longer
stand by and do nothing.

Prime Minister Balladur
gets on the phone

and threatens
his Algerian counterpart.

I told him that I would hold
the Algerian government responsible

for what happened

and make it known
to international opinion.

Balladur's threat works.
The Algerian President caves in.

Finally, after 39 hours of terror,

Flight 8969 can leave for France.

Just then, there it was.
We could leave.

In the plane, there was a joy
you could not imagine...

..and really this impression that
that was it - we'd succeeded.

We had all succeeded
and we were going to be saved.

We were leaving Algiers.

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 tonnes of fuel
a day.

Now there isn't enough
to reach Paris.

Only Marseilles,
on the southern coast of France.

Navigation lights...on.

Airconditioning packs...

Flight 8969 prepares to take off.

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.

They don't realise the horror
that awaits them.

After two days of terror
and the death of three passengers,

the Algerian authorities are allowing
Flight 8969 to leave for France.

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

Before take-off checklist completed.

But before he takes off the Captain Dhellemme is seeking
an ensurance from the terrorist leader.

What is it?

You want to get to Paris
to talk to the journalists.

I'll take you there.

But I wanna know if you're
going to blow up the plane

between Algiers and Marseilles.

Why do you ask if
I'm going to blow up the plane?

Because the responsibility for
these passengers is on my shoulders.

No, there is nothing to worry about
for you or the passengers.

We fly to Marseilles, like you said,

refuel the tanks,
then we go to Paris.

I give you my word.

Alright.

I believed them
when they told me that the plane

would not be blown up
between Algiers and Marseilles.

I don't know if they would've
given me the same answer

between Marseilles and Paris.

When someone's got explosives,

they're not for making
a birthday cake.

STEWARDESS: 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.

At 3:30 in the morning
on 26 December,

the plane approaches
Marseilles Airport.

They're unaware that Major Denis
Favier and his French Special Forces

have got there ahead of them
from Majorca

and are now planning a showdown.

Normally, you arrive on ground
that's held by the enemy,

but here's it's the enemy
who's going to arrive on ground

where YOU are in total control.

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

INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER

50 feet.

20 feet.

TYRES SCREECH

STEWARDESS: 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 are the lights of the plane
and the little car -

the follow-me car, which we follow,

and we do not go to the terminal.

The plane is being deliberately
led away

to a remote corner of the airfield.

Tension is very high,

because the French government
has received some alarming news.

While the plane was flying
towards France,

we received other information

according to which the terrorists
planned to use the plane

to 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

The French tactics
will now be dictated by Major Favier.

His plan is to
wear the terrorists down.

Whilst always appearing conciliatory,

the French will spin out negotiations
as long as possible.

They know that Yahia and his men
must be tired.

The hijacking has now gone on
for almost two days.

Air France 8969,
we require immediate refuelling.

27 tonnes!

27 tonnes.

The terrorists have learnt
from the flight crew

that 27 tonnes of fuel
will fill the tanks

far more than the nine tonnes needed
for the journey to Paris.

It appears to confirm
the intelligence report

that the plane is to be used
as a firebomb.

They say it's not possible, uh...

..because of the killings.

Because of what happened in Algiers.

It's in all the papers.

The workers who do the refuelling
are afraid.

They won't come near the plane.

Tell them we want to go now.

We'll do our press conference
in Paris.

Air France 8969. They want
to 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 do it here on the plane.

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.

The terrorists agree to a
press conference aboard the plane,

little realising that it's all part
of a clever plan.

Tactically, this press conference
was important

because it enabled us to get
some of the passengers moved

to the rear of the plane.

The negotiators asked 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 realise

is that the plane's doors
can be opened from the outside.

Are they coming?

No. Not yet.

By now, the plane has been sitting
on Marseille's 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
on 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 do...what do you...

What do you mean they're not ready?

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...
Move it right now. Do it.

Move the plane there,
where the other ones are.

We'll be fine...

Move the plane! Go over there
where the other ones are!

Do it!

Do it!

Let's go. (sighs)

Start engines.

Suddenly, all Colonel Favier's plans
are in disarray.

Yahia, the terrorist leader,
now has the initiative.

TRANSLATOR: 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 reorganise
very quickly.

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.

There won't be a press conference.

It's too late.
It should've been done.

Tell them to fuel the tanks.
We're leaving.

They have until 5:00.
At 5:00, we're taking off.

Tell them, Captain. Do it!

I've had it! Do it!

Air France 8969...

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.

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.

By 5:00, no fuel has been delivered.

The authorities have no intention
of allowing the plane to take off.

5:00 comes round,

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

(passengers mutter fearfully)

Yahia enters the cabin
to choose his fourth victim.

But he seems reluctant.

STEWARDESS: He chooses
a member of the crew,

the youngest, the most foreign,

who had made the mistake
of telling him he was an atheist.

(sighs)

I don't wanna do this.

But I've got no choice.

STEWARDESS: I don't know what was going on on Yahia's head

and we never will

I don't know
if he changed his mind,

but he kept putting off
this execution.

So instead of that,
he fired on everything around.

GUNSHOTS

The hijackers know
they're in the endgame.

But then 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.

(recites in French)

The terrorists know the French
negotiators are in the control tower.

They decide to send them a message.

(fires gun and yells)

LEGORJUS: One of the terrorists

opened the side window
of the cockpit

and hosed down the control tower.

The glass shattered all around us.

We were literally machinegunned.

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.

Major Favier has been given
carte blanche

by the French Prime Minister,
Edouard Balladur.

He decides the moment has come
to act.

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.

(passengers gasp)

They're coming! They're coming!
They're all coming!

(shouts)

At that moment, everybody understood
- them and us -

it was the beginning
of the assault.

The cavalry charge is under way.
This is actual footage of the attack.

FAVIER: 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.

STEWARDESS: Then,
it's the apocalypse.

GUNSHOTS, SCREAMS

MAN: Get down! Get down!

Don't move!

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.

At the rear of the plane, the other
two squads of Favier's men enter.

SCREAMS AND GUNSHOTS CONTINUE

So I hear, "Hands on your head,
don't move, hide.

"Get down as low as you can."

GUNSHOTS AND SCREAMS CONTINUE

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 trace
of bullets whizzing past,

nor what was going on around.

Hundreds of bullets are whistling
through the cabin.

Grenades are exploding.

There's smoke and confusion
everywhere.

CAPTAIN: 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.

The snipers on the terminal roof can
see the terrorists in the cockpit,

but frustratingly,
can't get a clear shot.

The copilot is blocking their view.

But that problem
is about to be solved.

Actual video footage shows
the copilot, Jean-Paul Beauderie,

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 SHATTERS

Move! Go, go, go!

At the rear of the cabin,

the French Special Forces
is evacuating the passengers

through a hail of gunfire.

But cabin steward Kristoff Moran
finds himself unable to escape.

I tried to take with me a woman,

a passenger who'd been sitting
next to me,

but she was too fat -
she could not come.

So we just held hands.

Unbelievably, only a few minutes
after the assault began,

most of the passengers
have been rescued.

By now, only one terrorist
is left alive,

but he's going down fighting.

CAPTAIN: 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?

FAVIER: I think that after 54 hours,

there is mutual recognition and
"respect" between the terrorists

and the hostages.

Yes, bonds were created
in this drama.

And I think these bonds
were activated

and that they perhaps contributed
to saving the lives

of some members of the crew.

The French news footage captures
amazing scenes of the battle.

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

GUNFIRE

The final surviving terrorist holds
them at bay for almost 20 minutes,

but his time and his ammunition
are running out.

GUNSHOT

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, "Alright, it's over."

But it's not over yet

for the captain
and his flight engineer.

The GIGN are not sure
who were 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 your head.

I'm the captain of the plane.

I will get out.
But not with my hands on my head.

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.

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.

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: The crew had
a specific responsibility -

the duty to save the hostages
and to safeguard the plane.

The crew in general,
and the captain in particular,

they all rose to the occasion.

Nine of the 30 GIGN men
have been wounded, one seriously.

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.

Out of the 161 passengers
who survived the hijacking,

only a few have suffered
slight injuries -

a huge relief
to the French Prime Minister.

BALLADUR'S TRANSLATOR: 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.

All the French Special Forces
and the crew members

received high national honours
for their courage.

STEWARDESS: For a long time,

I kept seeing the faces
of the three dead passengers

that I couldn't save.

Then when the time
of the medals came,

I realised that I'd helped save
170 people.

It's a lot more gratifying,

and it allowed me to mourn
and get over it.

I don't wear the medal,
but I'm proud of having it,

and I consider that we deserved it.

We only did
what we were supposed to - our job.

It was a textbook mission,

one of the most successful
anti-terrorist operations

ever carried out.

But the traumatic experience
will never leave the survivors.

Zachera Kakatsi the passenger could not stay in Algeria

she became so anxious about her safety she immigrated to France

Stewardess Claude Burgniard
was thanked by Air France

but never worked for them again.

Kristoff Moran
suffered the same fate.

Since this horrific experience,

his outlook on life
has changed radically.

He now works
for a charitable organisation.

Captain Dhellemme
eventually returned to flying duties.

After a further nine years
of service,

he's recently retired
from Air France.

Later, a former leader
of the Algerian terrorist groups,

Omar Chiki,

confirmed that 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.

STEWARDESS: I went to do
some shopping

and 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?"

STEWARDESS: 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.

Subtitles by: Dimitrios Priftis
[email protected]