Topics
Change
Inspirational
Motivation
Presentations
The Courage to Succeed
The Potential of Human Power to Overcome Life’s Obstacles
Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Surviving a Terrorist Attack
Summary Profile
Jackie Pflug speaks from personal experience when she talks about facing change and adversity. On Thanksgiving weekend in November of 1985, she was flying to Cairo, Egypt from Athens, Greece, where she had attended a volleyball tournament with a group of students. At the time, Jackie was a special education teacher at the Cairo American School. Ten minutes into EgyptAir Flight #648, three terrorists, calling themselves "The Egypt Revolution," hijacked their flight.
A gun battle ensued as the terrorists took control of the flight at an altitude of 35,000 feet. They were forced to land in Valetta, Malta. The terrorists began to execute one passenger every 15 minutes until their demands for fuel were met. Like four passengers before her, Jackie was shot at point blank range, execution style, thrown from the plane onto the tarmac and left for dead. For five hours, she drifted in and out of consciousness until an airport grounds crew retrieved her body on its way to the morgue. Fifty-nine passengers died during the ordeal.
Jackie lived.
Over the years, she has had to adapt to the effects of being shot in the head and the resulting brain injury, which includes impaired vision and a loss of short-term memory.
Fortunately, Jackie sees things differently today. This experience has opened her eyes to all of those obstacles that consume us in our lives and careers. If she has learned anything, it's that we must look beyond those obstacles that get in our way and focus on what really matters.
Jackie shares her story in order to spread a message of hope and encouragement to audiences around the world.
