Happy 94th birthday to Captain Uri Bar-Lev! Captain Bar-Lev is a hero and retired El Al pilot who made aviation history as the only pilot to successfully thwart an in-air hijacking.
In 1948, as a teenage pilot during Israel’s War of Independence, Captain Bar-Lev flew for the military before joining Israel’s national airline. On September 6, 1970, he piloted El Al Flight 219 from Tel Aviv to New York via Amsterdam. Shortly after takeoff, two armed hijackers tried to storm the cockpit.
At 29,000 feet, Captain Bar-Lev executed a steep descent that created negative G-forces, throwing the hijackers off balance and lowering the plane to 10,000 feet to reduce the risk of a grenade detonation.
An air marshal neutralized one hijacker, while the other lost consciousness due to the shift in air pressure. Captain Bar-Lev’s heroic actions saved the lives of those on board and prevented a potential disaster.
Last year, Captain Bar-Lev was reunited with Amit, who was on board that historic flight. “Amit was a 9-year-old passenger on my El Al plane in 1970. 54 years later, we were reunited. Lives well-lived are the best revenge,” he said.
