<p>Months before 9/11, a passenger seized control of a Boeing 747 and nearly crashed it into the Sahara.</p><br><p>Everyone survived - including a curious ensemble of famous passengers - but no one quite recovered.</p><br><p>Kate Mossman tells the story of Flight 2069 to Oli Dugmore.</p><br><p>READ: <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2025/12/the-strange-fate-of-flight-2069 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The strange fate of Flight 2069</a></p><p><strong>SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:</strong></p><p>⭐️ <a href="www.newstatesman.com/xmaspod25" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2</a></p><br><p><strong>LISTEN AD-FREE:</strong></p><p>📱<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2022/06/newapp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download the New Statesman app</a></p><br><p><strong>MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:</strong></p><p>❓ <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2022/10/you-ask-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ask a question</a> – we answer them every Friday</p><p>⏰ <a href="https://morningcall.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get our daily politics newsletter</a> every morning</p><p>✍️ <a href="http://saturdayread.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Enjoy the best of our writing</a> via email every Saturday</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>