Otto Herold with his latest model - by Nigel A. JAMES
The
Flight Now Boarding!
Otto
Herald and Captain Pollak
It
was the 21st of December 1975. Vienna was sinking in snow
and Christmas was coming. There were the usual feelings of magical
secrets, the fun and stress of last minute shopping, and the growing
excitement in the hearts of the young. And then, as if hitting a
switch, everything stopped!
The
notorious terrorist Carlos with his band of Palestinian and German
accomplices had taken over
OPEC and were holding not
only staff, but 11 oil ministers hostage as well. And, among those
being held was the powerful Sheik Yamane of Saudi Arabia. A blood
bath, it seemed, was about unfold, and Austria, in just a short space
of time, had gone from high Advent magic to spirits of sadness and
grieving. And, it was paining!
And
with 4 already dead, the Austrian government was not about to take
any chances. And
so, bearing in mind the
importance of life, the terrorist’s
demands
were agreed to in full. These not only included good food and good
wine, but also messages in French to be read out at 2 hourly
intervals on the radio, and, most importantly,
a plane to take them and their
hostages
to a place of their choice. But, of course, a plane needs a crew, and
this was to be no normal flight!
Otto
Herold was a young co-pilot with Austrian Airlines at the time, and,
when the call for volunteers came he needed no time at all. If he
were to be called, he would be the one for the right-hand seat in the
cock-pit! And so, on the morning of the 22nd of
December,1975 - Otto Herold and captain Manfred Pollak were ready and
waiting in their fully fuelled plane for permission to take-off for
destination unknown.
The
terrorists and their hostages boarded, and, to everyone's relief
everything went off without any incident. The two pilots
experienced nothing out of the ordinary, that is to say, nothing
except the one small thing that still sticks out in Otto Herold’s
mind. Because there were no hostesses on board, he had volunteered to
serve coffee and everyone was thankful. That is to say, all except
one! One of the hostages, an oil minister, rudely rejected the
offer of coffee, and, whilst pushing it angrily away demanded tea!
There was no tea, and he, too, had to make do with coffee. The crux,
however, came when Otto went to collect the dirty cups. One of the
terrorists, a Palestinian, stopped him, and, instead, forced the now
non too happy complaining and demanding minister to clear up the
dirties! There were to be no more passenger complaints for
the rest of the flight!
And,
the trip came to an end in Algiers where the last of the hostages
were released. Carlos and his gang then disappeared and Otto and
Captain Pollak were flown back to a sad and very much shocked Vienna.
And
Christmas? It was different. It was more an occasion of relief
mixed with sorrow. People had been killed, and Austria, a small
central European peace loving country had been wounded. “Why us”
was everyone’s question.
And
Captain Pollak and Otto Herold? Volunteering had been brave and
both were decorated for their courage. Of course, both continued
flying and Otto Herold went on to become captain. And, as everyone
knows, captains can never stop flying!
Now,
happily in retirement
and many Christmases later, Otto Herold is
still very much behind the controls of his fleet of model planes.
But, no models, however realistic, can replace the Viscounts, the DC
9s or the Airbuses which he once skippered. But, flying is flying and
even in miniature the take-offs and landings, just like then, are
still just as exciting as ever! But, Otto has never had another home
coming like the one from Algiers. He had survived a flight into
danger and had come back from destination unknown! Otto Herald and
Captain Pollak – both very brave men – and heroes of 75!
Selected
Vocabulary
bearing
in mind – im Auge behalten
crux
– der springende Punkt
demands
– Bedienungen
dirties
– schmutzige Geschirr
hitting
a switch – schnell ausschalten
hostage
– Geisel
relief
– Erleichterung
retirement
– Rente / Pension
rudely
– unwirsch
without
any incidence – ohne Zwischenfall
Nj.
SPONSERS
SPONSERS
Diarikom
is sponsored by Mag. Karl Brieber
Wirtschaftstreuhänder
– Steuerberater – Unternehmensberater
The
North Yorkshire Moor's Railway
b.
b.
