Flight to Destination Unknown - Captains Otto Herald and Manfred Pollak
Otto Herald,
a young pilot with Austrian Airlines, was looking forward to
Christmas. And, Captain Manfred Pollak also needed a few days off
from the routine of flying. They'd had a busy year. And, with snow on
the ground, there was a wonderful feeling in town. Vienna was happy
and in a good Christmas mood.
But, then,
Vienna was thrown into a nightmare. Things had dramatically changed.
It was the 22nd of December, 1975. And, because of this
nightmare, Otto Herald and Captain Manfred Pollak were preparing for
take-off. Their flight was unscheduled with no return leg and going
to destination unknown.
And, then
the passengers boarded. A small group of terrorists
and their hostages. And, the terrorist leading the terror was
Carlos. The most notorious, most feared, most dangerous, and most
wanted man in the world. And, the hostages were the oil ministers
of OPEC. And, among them, the most powerful of all, Sheikh Yamane of Saudi Arabia.
And, it was
just after lunch on the previous day when the story began.
The annual
meeting of OPEC oil ministers was nearing its end. Soon, everyone
would be on their way home. There was a very good feeling. The
meeting had been a success. And, then, without warning, it happened.
The nightmare began. The meeting was stormed by Carlos and his small
group of terrorists. The oil ministers were now down on the floor
with their hands on their heads. Guns speak a very clear language.
And, then
the talking began. And, there was nothing that Austria could do. In
those days, there were no special forces, and, with one policeman
already dead, the terrorist's demands were agreed to in full. Life
was more important than principle. And, the terrorist's demands
included a message in French to be read out at 2 hourly intervals on
the radio, meals and drinks from the Intercontinental Hotel, and a
plane to take them and their hostages out of the country. But, of
course, a plane needs a crew.
At Austrian
Airlines, the call for volunteers went out. A crew was needed. And,
two of the many who volunteered were Otto Herald and Captain Manfred
Pollak. And, they were selected. And,it was hard to pretend whilst
sitting in the cockpit and waiting. This flight was to be different.
There were no guarantees. Otto Herald and Captain Manfred Pollak
knew they may never return. Now, they were no longer thinking of
Christmas.
And, then
they were off. They had been cleared for take off to destination
unknown. And, as they took off and climbed into the cold winter sky,
the world held its breath!
But, they
needn't have worried. Everything went off OK. And, their flight
turned into a tour of Middle East capitals with a hostage release at
each stop. And, when reaching Algiers, Carlos and his gang simply
disappeared into thin air. Otto Herald and Manfred Pollak were alone
in their plane. The journey had ended. And, before very long, they
were on their way home. Now, destination Vienna and Christmas.
But, there
was one small story that Otto Herald never forgot.
Because
there had been no hostesses on board, it was far too dangerous, Otto
Herald had volunteered to serve coffee - Coffee was all that they
had. And, everyone was happy. That is to say, all except one. One
of the hostages, an oil minister, rudely rejected the offer of coffee
and demanded a tea! Otto Herald was unable to help. The oil
minister then became even angrier. And then, later, when Otto Herald
went to clear-up the dirties, one of the terrorists stopped him. The
still non too happy and miserable minister was ordered to clear-up
instead. There were to be no more passenger complaints for the rest
of the flight. And, that was the worst thing that happened on the
flight to destination unknown.
And, 6
months later, Captain Manfred Pollak and Otto Herald were decorated
for bravery by the President of Austria. And, of course, both
carried on flying and Otto Herald was promoted to captain. And, as
everyone knows, captains can never stop flying, and after retirement,
both captains spent lots of their time flying their fleets of scale
model planes.
But, no
models, however impressive, can ever replace the Viscounts, DC9s,
and Airbuses which the two men once flew. Life, for these men was up
in the sky. And, they never forgot their flight to destination
unknown.
Two very
courages men, Captain Otto Herald and Captain Manfred Pollak. They
volunteered for a Christmas time flight with a difference. A flight
where the first officer served coffee - and a hostage cleared up the
dirties!
Destination
unknown. Captain Otto Herald and Captain Manfred Pollak.
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