A notable moment in Atkinson's career was in December 1975, when he was given the task of flying Carlos the Jackal and a number of other terrorists. He extracted Carlos and his fellow terrorists from Algeria, saving the lives of sixty people who had been taken hostage in the raid on OPEC headquarters in Vienna. It is reputed that Neville asked Carlos to sign a copy of Frederick Forsyth's novel "Day of the Jackal" during the flight.