(-C) - A Real Life Christmas Story - Destination Unknown - Two pilots, Otto Herold and Manfred Pollak and a Christmas flight to somewhere unknown!

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 Otto Herold and Manfred Pollak - Destination Unknown -

It was the 21^st of December 1975. Christmas was coming. Vienna was cold and covered with snow, but there was no Christmassy feeling. In fact, things were bad. Carlos, the notorious international terrorist,  and his band of German and Palestinian accomplices had taken over OPEC, and, Sheik Yamane of Saudi Arabia and several other oil ministers were being held hostage in the OPEC headquarters in the centre of Vienna. And, with 4 policemen dead and the promise of even more violence, the Austrian government was in a difficult position. And so, the terrorists' demands were agreed to in full.

These demands included a message in French to be read out at 2 hourly intervals on the radio, meals from the Intercontinental hotel, and a plane to take the hostages and terrorists out of the country.  But, of course, a plane needs a crew, And, at Austrian Airlines the call for volunteers went out. And, Otto Herold, a young pilot at the time, and Captain Manfred Pollak were chosen.

And, so it was, that on the morning of the 22^nd of December 1975, Otto Herold and Captain Manfred Pollak were ready and waiting to take off in their fully fuelled   DC9. And then, with terrorists and hostages on board, Captain Manfred Pollak requested permission to take off for destination unknown. And, as they took off, they didn't know when or if they'd ever see Vienna again. They, they believed were on a flight into danger!

But, they needn't have worried. Nothing serious happened and everything went incredibly well. Their flight turned into a tour of Middle East capitals with a hostage release at each stop. And, when they finally reached Algiers, their final destination, the terrorists simply vanished into thin air leaving Otto Herald and Manfred Pollak alone in their plane.

But, there was one small story that Otto Herold never forgot.

Because there were no hostesses on board, Otto Herold had volunteered to serve coffee. 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 cup of tea instead. Of course, Otto Herald was unable to help, and the oil minister became even angrier. And then, when Otto Herold went to collect the dirty cups and plates, one of the terrorists stopped him. The still non too happy oil minister was made to clear up the dirties instead. There were to be no more passenger complaints for the rest of the journey.

And, that was the worst thing that happened on the flight to destination unknown, and Otto Herald and Captain Manfred Pollak returned safely home to Vienna.

And, 6 months later, Captain Pollak and Otto Herold were decorated by the Austrian president for their courage and bravery. And, of course, both continued flying and Otto Herold was promoted to captain. And, as every one knows, captains can never stop flying. And Manfred Pollak and Otto Herold both spent their free time and much later their retirements building and flying model planes.

But, no models, however impressive, could ever replace the Viscounts, DC9s, and Airbuses which they once flew. Life, for these very brave men was high in the sky. And, their flight to destination unknown was never forgotten.

Captain Otto Herold and Captain Manfred Pollock, two very brave men who volunteered for a Christmas time flight to destination unknown. A flight with a difference where the first officer served the coffee and cakes.

Destination Unknown. Captain Manfred Pollock and Captain Otto Herold.

PLEASE WAIT FOR AUTOMATIC SWITCH TO VOCABULARY AND QUESTIONS - TAKES ABOUT 20 SECONDS!

Vocabulary – Wortschatz

according – laut

accomplice – Komplize

brave – tapfer

consideration – Betrachtung

courage – Mut

decorated – ausgezeichnet

demand – Forderung

destination – Zielort

difficult position – Schwere Position

dirties – Schmutzige Geschirr

except – außer

experience – erleben

hostage – Geisel

impressive – beeindruckend

notorious – berüchtigt

promoted (promote/promoted/promoted)– gefordert

retirement – Ruhestand

rudely – unwirsch

volunteer - Freiwilliger

Questions

Why were things bad in Vienna in December 1975?

Who had taken over OPEC?

What were two of the terrorists' demands?

Where did the plane take off for?

Where did the flight end?

Why were the two pilots decorated?

What did Otto Herold never forget?