Date: | Saturday 27 March 1993 |
Time: | |
Type: | Airbus A320-231 |
Owner/operator: | Indian Airlines |
Registration: | |
MSN: | |
Engine model: | IAE V2500-A1 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 203 |
Aircraft damage: | None |
Category: | UI |
Location: | Amritsar-Raja Sansi Airport (ATQ) -
India
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
Departure airport: | Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL/VIDP) |
Destination airport: | Hyderabad Airport (HDD/OPKD) |
Narrative:Indian Airlines Flight 439, an Airbus A320 with 192 passengers and 11 crew, was hijacked during a domestic flight from Delhi (DEL) to Madras (MAA) via Hyderabad (HDD). A passenger, who claimed to have explosives strapped to his body, demanded to be flown to Lahore, Pakistan.
Because authorities in Lahore refused the aircraft permission to land, however, the pilot went to Raja Sansi Airport in Amritsar, India. There the hijacker made three demands : political asylum for himself in Pakistan, a press conference in Islamabad, and an investigation of the hijacking by Interpol rather than by Indian authorities. Although he set no deadlines, the hijacker referred to himself as a "human bomb " and threatened to blow up the plane.
The hijacker eventually surrendered and all passengers and crew members were released . A search of the aircraft located no explosives. The bomb that the man claimed to have strapped to his body was a hair dryer which he had hidden under his belt.
Sources:
Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1993 / U.S. Department of Transport, FAA, Office of Civil Aviation Security
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