The Hijacking of Air France Flight 8969 - DISASTER BREAKDOWN

On December 25th 1994, a passenger plane belonging to Air France was making a trip between Paris and Algiers. An international incident began to mount as Air France Flight 8969 was taken over by four men. A stalemate lasting days would result in French GIGN intervening to take back control of the plane.

Background Music Credits:
Man-Made Structures - Ethan Sloan
Covert Affairs - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
Ghosting - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
Tracker - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
Transmitting - Ethan Sloan
Dragon's Tongue - Autonomic Sensations

sources:

00:00 Intro
01:15 December 24th
11:12 December 25th
14:02 December 26th
19:37 Aftermath

[CYMotorsport]

The fact that the Algerians chose to stay on board with the other hostages thinking it would increase everyone’s chances is one of the most brave acts I’ve ever heard. I can’t even imagine

[dfuher]

As a testament to what u can do with adrenalin powering through ur body, the F/O actually broke his femur after jumping out of the cockpit window, and he still got up and ran to safety.

[rayjiii]

my respect for those algerians who refused to leave the plane is insane.

[princeofcupspoc]

The highjackers sealed their fate when they killed the first hostage. If the soldiers attack and hostages are wounded, there would be great outcry for overuse of force. Once the passenger was killed, then the soldiers HAD to attack, before the highjackers killed any more. Politics is a subtle thing sometimes.

[jude_the_apostle]

Those Algerian's refusing to leave still gives me goosebumps regardless of how much times I hear about this flight. I hope they truly got the recognition they deserved from the French government and people. Actual Heroes

[bassett_green]

18:05 that difficulty opening the door has an interesting cause. The GIGN had been using an empty plane to rehearse the raid. They brought the air stairs over, at the same height.

But the passengers, fuel, etc all add weight and compress the plane's suspension. This meant the door was lower than expected, and the air stairs blocked the door from opening outward. You can see the vehicle back up quickly and the door swings free. The operator was unfamiliar with the height controls and made the wise decision to not try to figure it out in the moment

[cactusslack]

0:57 can we just mention the absolute Balls on the dude opening the door? He was about to face armed terrorists and just forced open a heavy exit door on a commercial jet liner, with his leg hanging about 30 feet in the air above a concrete runway. Legend

[TheBierp]

That first officer jumping from that window...OMFG. That's WAY up there. Being willing to chance a jump that far might be the best indication of how horrifying that situation really was. (Sadly, it looks like his arm didn't take it too well, but the fact that he was able to walk at all is amazing.)

[TheRealNatNat]

The GIGN (groupe d'intervention de la gendarmerie nationale) were hailed as heroes in France and rightly so. I still remember how glad I was when I heard that the passengers were ok and all the cockroaches neutralized.

[JohnDoe-txlq]

The last hijacker knew any tiny chance of his own survival would depend on keeping the two remaining crew alive... which kinda strange considering what they had intended to do with the whole plane and there was absolutely no way he was going to escape.

[MySamspam]

Never apologise for your videos being "too long" could watch them all day.

[walternerd]

You forgot to mention even after all of the hijackers were dead the GIGN troops were still shooting at the cockpit. Captain Bernard dhelleme was screaming at the radio telling the tower quote to stop shooting their are Frenchman still alive in the cockpit and they (the hijackers) are dead. In the end the bodies of the dead hijackers shielded both captain dhelleme and F/E Alain bossait from fatal bullet wounds. Eventually they both survived F/E was handcuffed by the GIGN while Captain Dhelleme refused to put his hands up while leaving the aircraft.

[launchnation]

Disaster Breakdown always has 10/10 vids

[desmond-hawkins]

The GIA may not have attempted this kind of attack again, but they attacked France again the very next year in 1995 with a series of bombings, the worst one being in the Paris metro at Saint-Michel station killing 8 (a gas canister filled with explosives and nails). France activated its "Vigipirate" national security alert system with increased police presence at tourist sites and important locations. It was never lifted and is still in place, although there are different levels of alert and the measures vary accordingly.

[manuelvalentin]

It would've been a fitting ending to the aircraft if it had been kept for training purposes for future GIGN units. I'm sure they would've appreciated the history and significance of it.

[ExperimentIV]

i actually just rewatched the mayday about this one, and it’ll be good to get your perspective. cheers DB, have a great weekend!

[nacerdjaafri]

I'm actually from Algeria, and I remember this incident and that difficult period of time all together.
I have been watching your videos for a long time, but when it comes to something we know in details, it's a quite different experience.
Allow me to say this:
Good research, objective work, correct information and a great video as always!!!
I'm impressed and I was really moved by the disclaimer in the beginning of the video.
Just keep up the great work, this channel is the

[djmoch]

I hope I never experience the terror of being on a plane that gets hijacked, that's one of the things that terrifies me the most about flying.

[hectorpalmatellez]

This was such an informative video. Thanks for your commitment to creating great content every week. I'm sure many of us are always waiting for the new ones.
Also, I hope you continue to dissect events like this one in a similar way.

[Adamjpx]

I've literally spent all day binge watching all your videos. Great production and informative, keep it up!