Date: | Sunday 24 November 1985 |
Time: | 20:15 |
Type: | Boeing 737-266 |
Owner/operator: | EgyptAir |
Registration: | SU-AYH |
MSN: | 21191/450 |
Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 60 / Occupants: 98 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
Category: | UI |
Location: | Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA) -
Malta
|
Phase: | Standing |
Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
Departure airport: | Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH/LGAT) |
Destination airport: | Cairo International Airport (CAI/HECA) |
Narrative:On November 23, at 19:35 the EgyptAir Boeing 737 was hijacked by 3 men. The Egyptian security guard who was onboard shot and killed one of the hijackers before being shot and wounded himself, along with two flight attendants. Although the hijackers demanded to be flown to Tunisia or Libya, they agreed to land at Malta for refueling were it landed at 21:15. At Malta, the two wounded cabin crew members were released, along with 11 women. Because Maltese authorities refused to refuel the plane unless all passengers were released, the hijackers threatened to kill a passenger every 10 minutes. A total of 5 additional people were shot and thrown off the aircraft, two of them were killed.
After 22 hours of negotiation the plane was stormed by Egyptian forces. In the fight which followed hand grenades were thrown into the passenger cabin, causing a fire.
Sources:
Aircraft hijackings and other criminal acts against civil aviation : statistics and narrative reports / FAA
Location
Images:
photo (c) via Werner Fischdick; Milano-Malpensa Airport (MXP); May 1977
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |