The Egyptian Boeing 737, EgyptAir Flight 2843, was over the Mediterranean, believing its diplomatic status granted it passage. Four U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcats from the USS Saratoga intercepted it. They did not radio. They approached visually, rocking their wings, signaling the civilian airliner to follow. When the Egyptian pilot did not comply, the fighters took up positions off each wing. The message was unambiguous. After a tense standoff, the jetliner descended toward Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, escorted by American warplanes. It landed on October 10, 1985, surrounded by U.S. Navy SEALs and, minutes later, by Italian Carabinieri and police who pointed their weapons at the Americans.
This operation, code-named "Skeleton Key," was President Ronald Reagan's direct response to a terrorist atrocity. Days earlier, four militants from the Palestine Liberation Front had hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro. They murdered a 69-year-old American passenger, Leon Klinghoffer, shooting him in his wheelchair and throwing his body overboard. After negotiating their safe passage with Egyptian authorities, the hijackers were flown out of Cairo on this jet. The U.S. intelligence community tracked the plane. Reagan ordered it seized.
The event is often remembered as a bold American counter-terrorism victory. The more complex reality involves a severe breach of NATO ally sovereignty. The Italian government, led by Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, was furious that U.S. forces had effectively forced a civilian aircraft to land on Italian soil without permission. The standoff on the tarmac at Sigonella between American and Italian troops lasted for hours, a surreal confrontation between allies. Ultimately, the Italians took custody of the hijackers. The diplomatic rift took months to heal.
The interception established a template for later actions: using military force to apprehend terrorists internationally, regardless of diplomatic niceties. It also highlighted the legal and political quagmires such actions create. The hijackers were tried and convicted in Italy, though the mastermind, Abu Abbas, was on the plane and was released by Italian authorities, causing further U.S. outrage. The operation was tactically flawless and politically messy, a hallmark of the messy war against terrorism.