Show Czechs Reveal Story of Stolen Planes I ERDING Germany March 25 Combined AP and INS INS Fifty Fifty Fifty- eight Czechs who Czechs who scorned a chance to escape their Communist homeland homeland homeland home home- land told Saturday how seven antiCommunist antiCommunist antiCommunist anti- anti Communist crewmen seized their three planes in flight and brought them to United States-occupied States Germany Only 26 of the 85 occupants of the planes elected to stay in Germany Germany Germany Ger Ger- many as fugitives from One an American library in Prague aboard one of the planes returned to Prague by train from near-by near Munich Friday night Those who stayed refused to talk to newspapermen in order to I protect relatives left behind them One of the planes was seized at gunpoint with the pilot Capt Josef flying the plane with two pistols pointed at his head The uThe second pilot and the radio I I operator pulled guns on me 17 minutes after we took off from Brno said I thought at I first it was a joke but they ordered ordered ordered or or- dered me to change my course and threatened to shoot me if I refused I soon realized the course they ordered would take our plane to Germany But what would you do under two guns i iTo Two T crew members of another plane and one passenger who attempted attempted at at- I at-I tempted to resist the seizure of I their craft had their hands tied together by the conspirators Earlier an air force statement issued in Frankfurt said See Page 2 Column 3 I Czechs Reveal I Hijack Story Continued from Page One 53 of the 85 had expressed a desire to return home It said three planes departed from widely separated points in Czechoslovakia Brno Brno Bratislava and a They were supposed to be heading for Prague The statement said the passengers gers gels included 67 men 16 women one child and an infant Se cn Stay Of the 12 crewmen on all aU three planes seven stayed in Germany The five who chose to return said they believed cd crew members of all three planes and several of oC the passengers ers had plotted the escape in advance The passengers who are going back insisted they knew nothing of the plot until the planes landed at the United States air force base at Erding near Munich There was no open resistance Inthe in inthe inthe the seizure of the planes from Bratislava and However However However How How- ever when the tho planes were surrounded surrounded surrounded sur sur- rounded by American troops at atthe atthe atthe the air force base one of the passengers passengers pas pas- refused to leave the plane and had to be dragged off Head of Air All Line Among those returning was Leopold Leopold Leopold Leo Leo- head of the Czech air lines tried to avoid identification by American newspapermen newspapermen news news- then declined to news I talk when he was tas spotted on the roll roU call Capt insisted We Ve have lots of oC freedom in our countr country The trouble is that we think thinh you ar are trying to bluff us and you think we are tr trying ing to bluff you ou United States authorities disclosed disclosed dis- dis dis Ua- closed Saturday that the American woman director of oC the United States information service in Prague was among the 85 25 persons Catherine Kosmak 41 11 of New NewYork NewYork NewYork York the U S SIS I S director was described as an unwilling passenger passenger passenger pas pas- and the announcement said she returned immediately to Prague by train tram Only Foreigner ner Miss iss Kosmak who serves as a United States embassy as aswell well veil as information library director director tor or was said in Prague dispatches to have been the only foreigner aboard one of the three planes She was quoted as saying that when the plane landed near Munich Munich Munich Mu Mu- nich a male passenger tried to get at the pilot as he wanted to o be flown back to Czechoslovakia immediately He was removed by I two other men |