Editing Trans World Airlines (section)

===Terrorist target===
[[File:Dan Hadani collection (990048214780205171).jpg|alt=Passengers from the hijacked TWA plane arrive at Lod.|thumb|Passengers from the hijacked TWA plane arrive at Lod, 1969.]]
From 1969 to 1986, six TWA airliners were [[terrorism|terrorist]] targets for Palestinian ''fedayeen'', four of which were hijackings and two were bombings, mainly because the airline had a strong European presence, was a flag carrier for the United States, and flew to Israel.
* In 1969, [[TWA Flight 840 (1969)|TWA Flight 840]] from Rome to Athens was hijacked and forcibly diverted to [[Damascus]]. Nobody was injured, but the aircraft's nose was blown up (although replaced and the plane returned to service).
* In 1970, [[Dawson's Field hijackings|TWA Flight 741]] was hijacked after taking off from Frankfurt am Main en route to New York City. It was taken to Dawson's Field in [[Jordan]], along with two other hijacked aircraft. All three aircraft were empty of passengers and crew when they were destroyed. A fourth aircraft landed in Cairo and had a similar fate.
* In 1971, three members of the group "[[Republic of New Afrika]]" who had murdered a New Mexico State Police officer on November 8 [[TWA Flight 106|hijacked TWA Flight 106]], a Boeing 727, from [[Albuquerque]] to Havana. Passengers were released in [[Tampa, Florida]].
* In 1974, [[TWA Flight 841 (1974)|TWA Flight 841]] from [[Tel Aviv]] to New York City crashed into the [[Ionian Sea]] shortly after takeoff from Athens en route to Rome after a bomb believed to have been in the cargo hold exploded, killing all 88 on board.
* In 1976, [[TWA Flight 355]] was hijacked by five [[Croatia]]n separatists as it flew from [[LaGuardia Airport|New York–LaGuardia]] to O'Hare International. They ordered the pilot to fly to [[Montreal]], where the plane was refueled, and then made additional refueling stops in [[Gander International Airport|Gander]] and [[Keflavik International Airport|Keflavik]]; at some of these stops, the hijackers unloaded propaganda pamphlets that they demanded to be dropped over Montreal, Chicago, New York, London, and Paris. At the plane's final stop, [[Charles de Gaulle Airport|Paris–Charles de Gaulle]], the hijackers surrendered after direct talks with U.S. Ambassador [[Kenneth Rush]], and their explosives were revealed to be fakes.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946611-1,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114104511/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946611-1,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |title=Bombs for Croatia (Part I) |magazine=Time |date=1976-09-20 |access-date=2013-08-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946611-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208134035/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946611-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 8, 2008 |title=Bombs for Croatia (Part II) |magazine=Time |date=1976-09-20 |access-date=2013-08-18}}</ref>
* In 1985, [[TWA Flight 847]] from Athens to Rome was hijacked first to [[Beirut]], then to [[Algiers]], back to Beirut, back to Algiers, and finally back to Beirut—with some of its fuel being paid for by the [[Royal Dutch Shell|Shell]] credit card of flight attendant [[Uli Derickson]]. United States Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class [[Robert Stethem]] was singled out by Hezbollah as a member of the American military. The hijackers beat and tortured Stethem; [[Mohammed Ali Hammadi]] murdered the dying sailor and dumped his body on the tarmac. Robert Stethem was awarded the [[Purple Heart]] and [[Bronze Star]] with burial in [[Arlington National Cemetery]]. The memory of Robert Dean Stethem is honored by his nation with a namesake U.S. Navy destroyer, the [[USS Stethem|USS'' Stethem'' (DDG-63)]].
* In 1986, [[TWA Flight 840 (1986)|TWA Flight 840]], on approach to [[Athens, Greece]], was attacked with an on-board bomb, causing four Americans (including a nine-month-old infant) to be ejected from the aircraft to their deaths. Five others on the aircraft were injured as the cabin experienced a rapid decompression. The remaining 110 passengers survived the incident, and pilot Richard "Pete" Petersen made an emergency landing in Athens.