| Status: | |
| Date: | Friday 29 August 1969 |
| Type: |  Boeing 707-331B |
| Operator: | Trans World Airlines - TWA |
| Registration: | N776TW |
| MSN: | 18408/326 |
| First flight: | 1962 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 127 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Aircraft fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | Damascus-Mezzeh Airport ( Syria)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Roma-Fiumicino Airport (FCO/LIRF), Italy |
| Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH/LGAT), Greece | |
| Flightnumber: | TW840 |
TWA flight 840 was hijacked by two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The plane diverted to Damascus. Upon landing at Damascus the crew and passengers evacuated through emergency chutes. One hijacker threw hand grenades and another explosive device into the cockpit, destroying the front of the plane. The airplane was rebuilt with a new nose.
Sources:
» Aircraft hijackings and other criminal acts against civil aviation : statistics and narrative reports / FAAPhotos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Roma-Fiumicino Airport to Athens-Ellinikon International Airport as the crow flies is 1063 km (665 miles).
Distance from Roma-Fiumicino Airport to Athens-Ellinikon International Airport as the crow flies is 1063 km (665 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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