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 A DC-9-32 of Garuda Indonesia, similar to the aircraft involved in the incident | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 28 March 1981 |
| Summary | Hijacking |
| Site | Don Mueang Airport,Bangkok,Thailand |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 |
| Aircraft name | Woyla |
| Operator | Garuda Indonesian Airways |
| Registration | PK-GNJ |
| Flight origin | Kemayoran Airport,Jakarta |
| Stopover | Talang Betutu Airport,Palembang |
| Destination | Polonia Airport,Medan |
| Occupants | 53 |
| Passengers | 48 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 7 (5 hijackers, 1 Kopassus commando, and the pilot) |
| Injuries | 2 |
| Survivors | 46 |
Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 was aGaruda Indonesia flight that was hijacked on 28 March 1981, by theKomando Jihad inIndonesia. TheMcDonnell Douglas DC-9 plane PK-GNJ was hijacked on a domestic flight and forced to land atDon Mueang International Airport inBangkok,Thailand. The hijackers demanded the release of their confederates from Indonesian jails and issued other demands. Three days later, the aircraft was stormed byKopassus special forces unit that specializes in counterterrorism and hostage rescue. In the ensuing operation, all five hijackers were killed, while the pilot and one Kopassus operative were fatally wounded. All passengers were rescued.
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9, namedWoyla, was scheduled to take off fromSultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport inPalembang,South Sumatra, on Saturday morning, 28 March 1981. The pilot was Captain Herman Rante. The plane departedKemayoran Airport inJakarta at 08:00 and was scheduled to arrive atPolonia International Airport inMedan,North Sumatra, at 10:55. After take-off, five men withrevolvers stood up from their seats. Some pointed their guns at the pilot, while others patrolled the aisle, monitoring passengers. They demanded the pilot fly toColombo,Sri Lanka, but the plane did not have enough fuel, so they refueled atPenang International Airport inBayan Lepas,Malaysia. When they were refueling, the hijackers removed an older woman, Hulda Panjaitan from the plane, due to her emotional state. Subsequently, the plane took off and landed at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok. Once there, the hijackers read out their demands. The primary demand was the release of 80 individuals recently imprisoned in Indonesia following the "Cicendo Event" two weeks earlier, where Islamists attacked a police station in the Cicendo sub-district ofBandung. The hijackers also demanded $1.5 million USD, thatAdam Malik be suspended from the post ofVice President of Indonesia, and that everyIsraeli be deported from Indonesia. They also specified the release of one of their comrades at a secret location. The hijackers told Thai police to deliver their demands to the Indonesian government, and threatened to blow up the plane with all the passengers and crew aboard if their demands were not met.
| Operation Woyla | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Indonesia Thailand | Komando Jihad | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| L. B. MoerdaniSintong Panjaitan | Imran bin Muhammad Zein  | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| No specific units | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 35 Kopassus soldiers 20 RTAF Commandos | 5 hijackers | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 soldier dead from Kopassus | 4 hijackers dead (1 died on the flight back to Jakarta) | ||||||
| 1 civilian dead | |||||||
The Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces, Admiral Sudomo, immediately ordered theIndonesian Army'sKopassus, to conduct a terrorists raid to rescue the hostages. The commandos borrowed a McDonnell Douglas from Garuda Indonesian Airways that was similar to the hijacked plane for three days to rehearse a raiding. The team was armed with new weapons, includingHeckler & Koch MP5s. They set off for Thailand using a Garuda Indonesian AirwaysMcDonnell Douglas DC-10. On Monday, 31 March 1981, the team was ready, but theThai government did not give permission for Indonesian forces to take over the aircraft as it was on Thai territory. In desperation, the Indonesian Strategic Intelligence ChiefBenny Moerdani contacted a friend at theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) station in Bangkok to persuade the Thai government to give permission.
The Thai government finally approved the raid with the assistance from theAir Force Commando of theRTAF Security Force Command. On Tuesday, 31 March, the team began the hostage rescue operation, dividing themselves into three groups: Red Team, Blue Team, and Green Team. The Red and Blue teams were to be at the plane's rear while the Green team was to enter from the back door of the plane. Members of the Royal Thai Air Force Commando team were positioned on thetarmac in the event hijackers tried to escape. When the Kopassus team entered the plane, the hijackers were surprised and fired at the team, but three of the hijackers were killed when the team returned fire. One of the Kopassus commandos was shot, probably by his comrades, as was the pilot, also probably by Kopassus commandos. The rest of the hostages were released unharmed. Two of the hijackers surrendered to Royal Thai Air Force Commando, but they wereextrajudicially killed by the Kopassus commandos on the plane trip back to Jakarta.[1]
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Achmad Kirang, the wounded Kopassus team member who was shot in theabdomen, died the following day on 1 April 1981 atBhumibol Adulyadej Hospital in Bangkok. Captain Herman Rante, the plane's pilot who was shot in thecrossfire, also died in Bangkok a few days later. Kirang and Rante's remains were transported from Bangkok to Jakarta, where they were both later interred inKalibata Heroes' Cemetery.
The aircraft was renamed to 'Porong'[2]
The entire Kopassus team, including leader Lieutenant ColonelSintong Panjaitan, were awarded the Bintang Sakti by the Indonesian government and werepromoted. Achmad Kirang wasposthumously double promoted.[3]
A film based on the incident was scheduled for production in 2014, but was cancelled due to financial issues.[4]
