Hopes rose today for the release of the hijacked El Al Israeli jet airliner held by Algeria since July 29. The International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations received a telephone call from Algiers inviting its two emissaries, Capt. J. J. O’Grady and Capt. O. L. A. Forsberg, to return there for further negotiations.
The two pilots arrived here quietly after their talks with Algerian authorities deadlocked. The pilots’ group has been trying to work out an agreement whereby the Israeli plane would be returned. Capt. O’Grady and Capt. Forsberg offered to fly the aircraft out of Algeria if there is any objection on the part of Algerian authorities to the Israeli crew doing it themselves. The Algerians are holding 12 of the Israeli crewmen and passengers who were on the plane when it was hijacked by Arab terrorists during a Rome-Tel Aviv flight. The two pilots are expected to leave for Algeria Wednesday.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.