JS Tip 525: Engaging Leadership II

On June 27th, 1976, Air France Flight 139 from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked by terrorists and diverted to the airport at Entebbe, Uganda. Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator, welcomed the terrorists and imprisoned the passengers and crew. 

When the captors separated the Jews and Israelis from the rest of the group, the move recalled selections in the Nazi death camps. 

The Air France pilot, Captain Michel Bacos, stepped forward: 

I’m responsible for all of the passengers and demand to be able to see all of them—be they Israeli or not—at any given moment. 

The terrorists agreed to his demand. He moved from group to group, visiting with them, checking on their welfare, and never asking permission. 

When the terrorists released the non-Jewish hostages, they invited Captain Bacos and his crew to go with the released hostages. 

Captain Bacos refused:

There was no way we were going to leave. We were staying with the passengers to the end. This was a matter of conscience, professionalism and morality. I couldn’t imagine leaving behind not even a single passenger.

He later said, “It would have been impossible for me to leave my passengers. Unimaginable.” 

A week after the hijacking, Israeli special forces raided the airport, killed the terrorists, and released the hostages. 

The Leadership Lesson

Notice the words: Conscience. Professionalism. Morality. The relationship between leader and led. 

Captain Bacos passed away a month ago today, in France, at the age of ninety-four. The Israeli national anthem played at his funeral. 

The story and quotations are from major media outlets. We’re grateful to Shane Inglesby and Georgette Bevan of ICEL for prompting the story.