GSG 9 - Missions

Missions

Its first mission, "Operation Feuerzauber" (Operation Fire Magic), immediately established the GSG 9's reputation as an elite unit. It was carried out in 1977 when Palestinian terrorists hijacked the Landshut, a Lufthansa plane on the way from Palma de Mallorca to Frankfurt, demanding that imprisoned members of the German Red Army Faction terrorist group be freed in exchange for the passengers and crew who would be held as hostages. The aircraft was then flown to several destinations throughout the Middle East. During this time, the Lufthansa captain Jürgen Schumann was murdered by the leader of the hijackers in Aden.

Following a 4 day odyssey the hijackers directed the Boeing 737 to Mogadishu, Somalia, where they waited for the arrival of the Red Army Faction members after the German government had (falsely) signaled they would be released. In the night between October 17 and October 18, Somalian ranger units created a distraction, while members of the GSG 9, accompanied by two British SAS operatives as observers, stormed the plane.

The operation lasted seven minutes and was successful with all of the hostages rescued. Three hijackers died, the fourth was seriously injured. Only one GSG 9 member and one flight attendant were injured. The international counter-terrorism community applauded GSG 9 for the excellent and professional handling of the situation as assaults on planes are considered to be one of the most difficult operations that a hostage rescue force is likely to encounter. To support the GSG9 action, two accompanying SAS advisers provided some newly developed flash bang grenades, but ultimately, the flash bangs were never used due to the fire risk inside the aircraft cabin.