September 6, 1970: The Blackest Day In Aviation History!

For more than 30 years, it would be known as the blackest day in aviation history. On September 6, 1970, members of the militant Palestinian group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), hijacked four commercial airplanes. They commandeered a fifth aircraft three days later. Wanting to attract attention to the Palenstinian cause and secure the release of several of their comrades, the PFLP spectacularly blew up three of the planes. Today, the commanders who planned and carried out the attacks resist comparison to the terrorists who masterminded the events of September 11, 2001: members of the PFLP were not religious extremists, but secular Marxist Leninists. And of the almost 600 passengers taken hostage, none were killed. And yet more than three decades later, it is clear that a connection exists between the two seminal events: September 6, 1970 gave birth to a new era of winning producer Ilan Ziv interviews leaders of the PFLP, militants who carried out the attack, journalists who covered the hijackings, crew members and passengers. More than just recounting the events of those tense Septmeber days, this American Experience production examines how and when Middle East militants began to see civilian as legitimate pawns in their struggles for self-determination!

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