(Book Review)
Title of the Book: Captain Leul Abate: his life journey, flight and memory of plane hijackings
Author- Captain Leul Abate
Number of pages- 291
Published in 2023
Recently, the retired pilot, Leul Abate, wrote a book focused on his school years experiences and his long career at Ethiopian Airlines as a technician and pilot until his retirement. He demonstrated his working and living experiences throughout his entire life with photographs that can capture the reader’s attention.
The book also covered the story of the Comoros incident as reported by international media.
According to the book, Ethiopian Airlines was established in 1946 by Emperor Haile Selassie I with the support of an American-based company, Trans World Airlines. The first flight was conducted from Addis Ababa to Cairo using the Douglas C-47 aircraft.
After the Derg regime came to power and political upheavals grew, Captain Leul withdrew from Addis Ababa University’s science faculty and joined Ethiopian Airlines in 1977. He started as a ground technician for two and a half years and later graduated as a co-pilot with the 16th round of pilot trainees.
Most of the flight trainers were well-trained and had rich experience as fighter jet pilots in the Ethiopian Air Force. This experience helped Leul enjoy the profession and learn valuable lessons from his instructors.
Leul began his domestic flight career as a co-pilot in 1981 in a DC-3/C-47 aircraft. After serving as a co-pilot for one and a half years, he trained as a flight engineer for Boeing 707/720 airplanes in London and graduated. In 1987, he became a co-pilot of a Boeing 707. In 1992, he became a captain and flew from Addis Ababa to Asmara. In 1996, he became the Boeing 767/757 Captain, the highest rank in Ethiopian Airlines’ pilot history.
The book details various challenges Leul faced during domestic and foreign flights as a co-pilot and pilot. While some experiences were unforgettable and tragic, he overcame many challenges.
Ethiopian Airlines faced various challenges, including plane hijackings since 1968. Hijackings often occurred during domestic flights and ended with forced landings in neighboring countries like Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, and Aden, as well as in European cities. Negotiating with hijackers to save passengers’ lives and protect the airline’s security was challenging and cumbersome.
Some hijackers showed recklessness towards passengers, crew, and themselves, with little sympathy for innocent civilians. They often made demands that were impossible to fulfill, leading to disastrous consequences. Some hijackers were motivated by economic interests, while others had political reasons.
In the 1960s, the student political movement in Ethiopian politics reached a higher stage and changed their struggle tactics from protest to violence in order to topple the old imperial regime. The hijacking of the ET-708 Boeing plane in 1972 serves as a prime example. The plane was flying from Addis to Greece via Asmara when, minutes later and not far from the capital’s airspace, it was hijacked by six members of the Hilasilasie I student movement. Ultimately, five male hijackers and one female hijacker were killed, but another woman was captured and imprisoned.
The book reveals that in earlier times, both domestic and international flights were escorted by anti-hijackers, allowing pilots and passengers to travel safely from place to place. However, after the downfall of the Derg regime in 1991 and the rise of EPRDF regime, airplane hijackings became a frequent phenomenon. Following the regime change, the anti-hijackers were banned from flying with passengers. From 1991 to 1988, a total of 17 plane hijackings were committed.
In 1985, Captain Leul experienced his first encounter with a plane hijacking during a domestic flight. The plane took off from Debremarkos to Addis Ababa airport, but shortly after, it was hijacked by two Ethiopians in their twenties. The hijackers forced him to fly to Nairobi, but the plane ultimately landed in Djibouti after intense negotiations. No casualties were reported.
Captain Leul encountered a plane hijacking for the second time in 1995 while on a domestic flight from Addis Ababa to Bahirdar. As the plane descended for landing, a person entered the cockpit and announced the hijacking. The hijackers demanded to be flown to Sweden, threatening to burn the plane. However, Leul managed to land the plane in El Obeid, Sudan, after hours of negotiations with Sudanese officials.
The Comoros incident occurred in 1996, marking Leul’s third encounter with a hijacking. Assigned to fly to Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, Leul piloted a Boeing 767 with advanced technology and a capacity for 193 passengers.
When the plane took off, there were 175 passengers, including seven hostesses, two pilots, one technician, and two security team members.
The plane was destined for Kenya and flew at 39,000 feet above the land. However, minutes later, a heavy noise was heard in the passenger’s room, and two men entered the cockpit, informing the pilots that the plane had been hijacked. The hijackers claimed to have bombs and weapons and demanded that the pilots fly to Australia.
Leul, one of the pilots, informed the hijackers that the plane’s fuel tank only had 12,000 liters of fuel, which would only take them to Mombasa port in Kenya.
He pleaded with them to land in Mombasa, but they refused. Leul then contacted air traffic controllers in Nairobi to discuss the situation, but the hijackers dismissed his request. They also asked for a telephone number to contact airline officials in Australia, which was not provided.
The frustrated hijackers then banned the pilots from making any contact with the ground. As they approached Mombasa, Leul warned the hijackers that the plane would soon run out of fuel, but they ignored him. He tried to appeal to their humanity, mentioning that the passengers on board had families who depended on them. The hijackers, however, were determined to make history and refused to listen.
As the plane flew over Zanzibar, Leul pleaded with the hijackers to allow him to land and refuel, but they insisted on reaching Australia. They ordered Leul to contact Australia via radio, and he took the opportunity to alert Tanzanian air traffic controllers in Dar es Salaam about the situation.
As the plane approached Comoros Island, with less than 4,000 liters of fuel left, Leul informed the hijackers that they only had 45 minutes left before running out of fuel. The left engine of the plane stopped functioning, causing a rapid descent towards the sea. Despite Leul’s efforts to save the plane and passengers, it crashed into the ocean upon impact.
Leul and his co-pilot survived the crash, but many others lost their lives. Rescue workers soon arrived at the scene.
BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 5 DECEMBER 2024
