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.
Destroyed on ground
Damaged on the ground
accident date: 24-11-1985
type: Boeing 737-266
registration: SU-AYH
| Status: | |
| Date: | Sunday 24 November 1985 |
| Time: | 20:15 |
| Type: |  Boeing 737-266 |
| Operator: | EgyptAir |
| Registration: | SU-AYH |
| MSN: | 21191/450 |
| First flight: | 1976-02-26 (9 years 9 months) |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: / Occupants: 6 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: / Occupants: 92 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 60 / Occupants: 98 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA) ( Malta)
|
| Phase: | Standing (STD) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH/LGAT), Greece |
| Cairo International Airport (CAI/HECA), Egypt | |
| Flightnumber: | MS648 |
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.
Classification:
Hijack Destroyed on ground
Damaged on the ground
Sources:
» Aircraft hijackings and other criminal acts against civil aviation : statistics and narrative reports / FAAPhotos
accident date: 24-11-1985
type: Boeing 737-266
registration: SU-AYH
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 Athens-Ellinikon International Airport to Cairo International Airport as the crow flies is 1109 km (693 miles).
Distance from Athens-Ellinikon International Airport to Cairo International Airport as the crow flies is 1109 km (693 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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Boeing 737-200
- 1114 built
- 27th loss
- 16th fatal accident
- 7th worst accident (at the time)
- 27th worst accident (currently)
Malta- The worst accident
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