Man with a jinx for hijackings

Press, 29 June 1985, Page 19

Man with a jinx for hijackings

All Beirut — or what is left of it — has been buzzing with sympathy for the assistant president of the American University, Landry Slade, whose plane was hijacked twice in a week, writes Shyan Bhatie. When he finally managed to get away, he discovered that the hijacker of his previous flight was a co-passenger! Slade and his son, William, were orginally on the Alia (Royal Jordanian Airlines) flight to Amman that was hijacked by Shia gunmen. The passengers and crew were released before the plane was dramatically blown up on the tarmac at Beirut. Slade and his son were put on another flight, a Middle East Airlines Boeing to Cyprus. Just before they were due to land at Nicosia a Palestinian armed with a hand grenade said he was hijacking the plane. He was eventually talked out of it and the plane returned to Beirut.

Third time lucky for the Slade family. They were put on yet another flight, this time to Amman. The plane took off. As they settled themselves in, Slade discovered that one of their fellow passengers was the same Palestinian who had hijacked their plane over Cyprus. Slade is a dry, careful sort of chap. When he first set out for the airport at the beginning of the week, he travelled in an armoured personnel carrier provided by the Lebanese army. He had letters promising safe conduct from practically all the heads of the Beirut militias, but their assurances ceased to have any meaning once he had reached the airport itself. Although from a family with a long military tradition, Slade never saw armed service himself, due to poor eyesight. His sympathetic colleagues in Beirut believe, nevertheless, that his recent experiences have earned him a place in the record books. Copyright — London Observer Service.