A passenger described what happened
shortly after takeoff to the Washington
Times' John McCaslin, who shared this
account with his readers Thursday:
"I want to thank you brave folks for
coming out today," the pilot announced
over the public address system. "We
don't have any new instructions from
the federal government, so from now on,
we're on our own."
The passengers listened in total
silence, McCaslin was told.
"Sometimes a potential hijacker will
announce that he has a bomb. There are
no bombs on this aircraft and if
someone were to get up and make that
claim, don't believe him. If someone
were to stand up, brandish something
such as a plastic knife and say, 'This
is a hijacking' or words to that
effect, here is what you should do:
"Every one of you should stand up and
immediately throw things at that person
- pillows, books, magazines,
eyeglasses, shoes - anything that will
throw him off balance and distract his
attention. If he has a confederate or
two, do the same with them. Most
important: Get a blanket over him, then
wrestle him to the floor and keep him
there. We'll land the plane at the
nearest airport and the authorities
will take it from there.
"Remember, there will be one of him and
maybe a few confederates, but there are
200 of you. Now, since we're a family
for the next few hours, I'll ask you to
turn to the person next to you,
introduce yourself, tell them a little
about yourself and ask them to do the
same."
At the end of that remarkable address,
Flight 564's passengers gave their
pilot a rousing round of applause.
