Uli Derickson
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Uli Derickson (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Patzelt, August 8, 1944 – February 18, 2005), was a
German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...
best known for her role in helping protect 152 passengers and crew members during the June 14, 1985, hijacking of
TWA Flight 847 Trans World Airlines Flight 847 was a flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles. On the morning of June 14, 1985, Flight 847 was hijacked shortly after take off from Athens. The hijackers demande ...
by militants with alleged links to
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
.


Early life

Uli Derickson was born as Ulrike Patzelt on August 8, 1944, in
Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...
,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
. Her family was expelled from Czechoslovakia while she was a child, and moved to
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. They later fled to
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. She worked jobs as a clerk for a bank and car dealership and also held a part-time job as an au pair in the UK and Switzerland before emigrating to the United States in 1967. Derickson also worked as an au pair in Connecticut before joining
Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...
(TWA) where she met her husband, pilot Russell Derickson. They were married in the 1970s and had a son, Matthew. In 1985, Russell Derickson retired from his job as TWA pilot.


TWA 847

Derickson was serving as the purser on Flight 847 between
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
when the flight was hijacked. Derickson took a kick to the chest from one of the hijackers as he forced her to go with him into the cockpit. The other hijacker—who was holding a
grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
with the pin removed—started kicking open the door. Once inside, they pistol-whipped the pilot and flight engineer. The two hijackers spoke poor English, but one of them spoke fluent German. Derickson was the only crew member able to speak German, which left her responsible for translating the hijackers' demands to the pilot. At one point, one of the two hijackers asked her to marry him, something she later described as the most terrifying moment of the ordeal. The plane was diverted first to
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, where Derickson first pleaded with the hijackers to release the women on board the plane. After the hijackers refused, she successfully pleaded for the release of 17 elderly women and two children. The hijackers then directed the plane to
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
wherein the ground crew in Algiers refused to refuel the plane without payment, leading the hijackers to threaten violence. It occurred to Derickson to offer her
Shell Oil Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...
credit card. The ground crew charged about $5,500 for 22,700 L (6,000 gal) of fuel. The hijackers then ordered the plane flown back to Beirut. On the way the first real violence started. The hijackers had earlier identified some
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
military personnel on the flight. They singled out
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
diver Robert D. Stethem. After beating him severely with an armrest, they shot Stethem and dumped his body on the ramp after landing. Additional henchmen boarded the plane to assist the hijackers. The plane then headed back toward Algiers, where Derickson and the rest of the women on board were released. The plane, now with only 39 American men on board as hostages, flew back to Beirut where they were held for 17 days. The ordeal ended on June 30 after
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
released 31 Lebanese prisoners, a fraction of the 766 the hijackers had demanded. During the hijacking Derickson was asked to sort through passenger passports to single out people with
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
-sounding names. Initial reports suggested that she had followed the orders. It was later revealed she had actually hidden the passports.


Aftermath, later life, and death

Because some reports had said that she had given the hijackers names of Jewish passengers on the flight, Derickson later received threats from extremist groups. When the truth about her efforts to protect Jewish passengers by hiding their passports was verified, she received threats from other extremists. Derickson's family relocated to
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
from New Jersey as a result of these threats. After the TWA 847 incident, Derickson continued her job as a flight attendant for TWA until her resignation in the late 1980s. She worked at an Arizona real-estate firm before joining
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
in the 1990s, where she continued her work there as a flight attendant. For her heroism, Derickson, a resident of
Fredon Township, New Jersey Fredon Township ( ) is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 3,235, a decrease of 202 over the previous decade.Legion of Valor The Legion of Valor of the United States of America, commonly known as the Legion of Valor, is a war veterans' organization created to promote patriotic allegiance, fidelity to the United States Constitution, and popular support for civil libert ...
, a veterans' organization; she was the first woman to be so honored. A 1988 TV movie based on her experience, '' The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story,'' featuring
Lindsay Wagner Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American film and television actress, model, author, singer, and acting coach. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science-fiction television series ''The Bionic Woman'' (1976 ...
as Derickson, received five Emmy nominations. The action film, ''
The Delta Force ''The Delta Force'' is a 1986 American action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin (in his final film appearance) as leaders of an elite group of Special Operations Forces personnel based on the real life U.S. Army Delta Force unit. Directed ...
'' (1987), inspired by the TWA Flight 847 hijacking, features a German air hostess (played by
Hanna Schygulla Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...
) modelled after Derickson. Subsequently, Derickson testified as a prosecution witness at the trial of
Mohammed Ali Hamadi Mohammed Ali Hammadi ( ar, محمد علي حمادي), also known as Mohammed Ali Hamadi (born 13 June 1964, in Lebanon) is one of the list of FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists most notable for being the lead hijacker in the TWA Flight 847 hijack ...
, one of the hijackers convicted of murdering Stethem. He received a life sentence. She later advised TWA,
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
and the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
on crisis management. Derickson was still working as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines when she was diagnosed with
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in August 2003. Russell died earlier the same year. On February 18, 2005, she died in her Tucson residence at the age of 60.


See also

*
Christian Zimmerman Benjamin Christian Zimmerman is an American pastor, former politician, retired United States Air Force pilot, and commercial pilot from Idaho. Zimmerman was a Republican member of Idaho House of Representatives. Early life On April 14, 1940, Zi ...
, Flight Engineer of
TWA Flight 847 Trans World Airlines Flight 847 was a flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles. On the morning of June 14, 1985, Flight 847 was hijacked shortly after take off from Athens. The hijackers demande ...


References


External links


"Bomb kills Hezbollah militant wanted by U.S."
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
. February 13, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Derickson, Uli 1944 births 2005 deaths Flight attendants Delta Air Lines people Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Hijacking survivors People from Sussex County, New Jersey Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 1985 People from Ústí nad Labem