 A British AirwaysHawker Siddeley Trident similar to the aircraft involved | |
| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23 July 1974[1] |
| Summary | Attempted bombing |
| Aircraft type | Hawker Siddeley Trident |
| Operator | British Airways |
| Registration | Unknown |
| Flight origin | Aldergrove Airport,Antrim Town,Northern Ireland |
| Destination | Heathrow Airport,Middlesex,England |
| Passengers | 85 |
| Crew | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 85+ |
On 23 July 1974, a small bomb was found aboard aBritish Airways flight fromAldergrove Airport, nearBelfast, toLondon, following a telephoned warning. The flight made an emergency landing atManchester Airport. TheProvisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) claimed it had planted the bomb as a symbolic act, and that it had not been set to explode.[2] It is the only time that the IRA has planted a bomb aboard an aircraft, and was the second terrorist incident involving a bomb aboard an aircraft in theUnited Kingdom.[3]
The flight took off fromAldergrove Airport, nearAntrim Town inCounty Antrim,Northern Ireland, for a domestic flight to LondonHeathrow Airport, England. As the flight was over theIrish Sea a phone call was made toThe Irish News warning that a bomb was on board and would explode. The flight crew diverted and made an emergency landing atManchester Airport. All 85 passengers and crew were removed from the aircraft. Police found the bomb in a plastic bag under one of the seats. The bomb had 2 kg (4.4 lb) of explosives and was removed where a controlled explosion was carried out.
Three police officers from theRoyal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were on board the flight. These included the Chief Constable of the RUC,Jamie Flanagan, together with his wife Florence,[4] and two police officers with their families who were travelling to London to attend an investiture; the two officers were to receive theBritish Empire Medal fromQueen Elizabeth II atBuckingham Palace[5] for their work during the ongoingNorthern Ireland conflict.Jim Molyneaux,MP, Chief Whip for theUlster Unionist Party and a senior member of theOrange Order, was also on the flight.[5] A youngBob Rae, who would later becomePremier of the Canadian province ofOntario and leader of theLiberal Party of Canada, was also a passenger.[6]
The IRA claimed that they had put the bomb on the aircraft. The IRA said the bomb was not primed and was not meant to detonate, but that it had been planted as a symbolic act, to show that they could get through the security atAldergrove Airport, nearBelfast.[7] It is unknown how the bomb made its way on board.
TheBritish Airline Pilots' Association called for sterner security measures at Aldergrove Airport inCounty Antrim, such as banninghand luggage, banning cleaners from boarding the aircraft during the turn-round, and not taking on catering supplies at Aldergrove.[1]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Operations |
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