Uli Derickson was born as Ulrike Patzelt on August 8, 1944, in Aussig (Ústí nad Labem), Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Derickson was the only crew member able to speak German,[3] which left her responsible for translating the hijackers' demands to the pilot.

[2] During the hijacking Derickson was asked to sort through passenger passports to single out people with Jewish-sounding names.

[1] The plane, now with only 39 American men on board as hostages, flew back to Beirut where they were held for 17 days.

The ordeal ended on June 30 after Israel released 31 Lebanese prisoners, a fraction of the 766 the hijackers had demanded.

After the incident Derickson received threats from terrorist extremists for her part in hiding the passports indicating Jewish names.

The action film The Delta Force (1986), inspired by the TWA Flight 847 hijacking, features a German air hostess (played by Hanna Schygulla) modelled after Derickson.

Subsequently, Derickson testified as a prosecution witness at the trial of Mohammed Ali Hamadi, one of the hijackers convicted of murdering Stethem.

[1] Derickson was still working as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines when she was diagnosed with cancer in August 2003.