
Flight 149
A Hostage Crisis, a Secret Special Forces Unit, and the Origins of the Gulf War
Stephen Davis(Author)
PublicAffairs (Publisher)
Published on 7. September 2021
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-5417-0005-5 (ISBN)
Description
On August 1, 1990, Flight 149 was scheduled for its routine London-to-Kuala Lumpur run. But when the plane, carrying 385 passengers and crew, landed at a Kuwait airport to refuel that day, it was surrounded by Iraqi tanks and about to be bombed by fighter jets. The passengers and crew were kept as hostages and suffered brutal treatment including violent attacks, sexual assaults, and mock executions. When the survivors were eventually released, they were never told why their plane landed in the middle of an invasion, or who a mysterious team of late arrivals on the flight might have been. Their story was overshadowed by the ensuing Gulf War. Until now. In Flight 149, Stephen Davis draws on unique witness accounts from the hostages, and uncovers the lies and coverups orchestrated by the British secret service and CIA. This story reveals an astonishing misuse of intelligence that changed the course of history and forever altered the relationship between the West and the Middle East.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
516 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5417-0005-5 (9781541700055)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Stephen Davis
Flight 149
A Hostage Crisis, a Secret Special Forces Unit, and the Origins of the Gulf War
E-Book
09/2021
PublicAffairs
€12.99
Available for download
Person
Stephen Davis is a TV commentator, documentary film maker, and editor. Davis has worked for the Sunday Times and was news editor for The Independent on Sunday. He has been a producer for 60 Minutes and 20/20, and a documentary film maker for the BBC. Now an author and educator, he teaches a course on fake news at the prestigious University of Otago in his native New Zealand.