No. 5 Operation Isotope (1972)
In the turbulent era of the 1970s, with terrorism on the rise and hijackings becoming more commonplace, various governments contemplated miliatry response to such threats. It's not surprising that it was Israel, with its now legendary special forces Sayeret Matkal, that carried out the very first successful rescue mission of a hijacked plane. On May 8, 1972, four gunmen from the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September hijacked a Belgian flight from Vienna to Tel Aviv. Black September would gain much more notoriety four months later during the Munich Massacre, when it kidnapped and later killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches during the Summer Olympics. Upon landing in Tel Aviv, the hijackers demanded Israel to release 315 Palestinian prisoners or they would blow up the Sabena plane with the passengers in it. Israel's government, while giving the appearance of negotiations, secretly prepared for an armed solution. Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan signed off on a rescue mission in which 16 commandos would disguise as technicians to approach the plane before storming it. The commander of the operation was Ehud Barak, the current Israeli defense minister. One of his team leaders, who was slightly wounded in the operation, was Benjamin Netanyahu, now the Israeli prime minister. The successful mission was carried out on May 9, in less than 10 minutes, with two hijackers killed and the other two captured. One hostage was wounded and later died from her wounds.
