Narrative:The Ariana flight was hijacked during a domestic flight. The plane was diverted to Tashkent (TAS), Uzbekistan. Food and fuel were provided there. Ten passengers were released before the airplane took off again. It then landed at Aktyubinsk (AKX), Kazakhstan. Three passengers were released there and fuel was added for a flight to Moscow-Sheremetyevo (SVO), Russia. At Moscow nine more passengers were released. After Moscow the plane continued to London-Stansted Airport (STN). Nine more passengers were released of the course of three days. On February 9, four men, including the pilot and first officer, escaped from a cockpit window. The remaining passengers were released on February 10.
Eighty-nine of the 166 passengers remaining and crew members requested asylum in Britain, while the other 77 people returned to Afghanistan. Of the 89 people who remained, 12 were charged in connection with the hijacking.
Classification:
Hijack
Sources:
» Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 2000 / FAA, Office of Civil Aviation Security
Photos
Aircraft history
16 FEB 1981 |
F-GCDH |
Air France |
|
15 OCT 1992 |
YA-FAY |
Ariana Afghan Airlines |
|
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 Kabul Airport to Mazar-I-Sharif Airport as the crow flies is 297 km (186 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.