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This is a list of aviation accidents and incidents that were caused byterrorism such as hijacking, bombing, or shoot down.
On January 26, 1972, aDouglas DC-9 flying between Stockholm and Belgrade via Copenhagen and Zagreb crashed nearSrbská Kamenice,Czechoslovakia after a bomb exploded at cruising altitude. The bomb was suspected to have been planted by Croatian nationalists. 27 of the 28 on board were killed, with the only survivor being flight attendantVesna Vulović.
TWA Flight 841 (1974) On September 8, 1974, a Boeing 707-331B (registered N8734[1]) operating as TWA Flight 841 from Tel Aviv to New York City via Athens and Rome crashed into the Ionian Sea, killing all aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the plane had been destroyed by a bomb hidden in the cargo hold. The detonation of the bomb destroyed the systems responsible for operating the plane's control surfaces, causing the plane to pitch up until it stalled and dove into the sea.
Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 was aCubanDouglas DC-8 flying fromBarbados toJamaica that was brought down on October 6, 1976, by a terrorist bomb attack occurring 11 minutes after takeoff. All 73 people on board theDouglas DC-8 aircraft were killed. Among the 25 crew members, the passengers comprised 57 Cubans – including the Cuban National Fencing team, and several government officials – 11Guyanese, and 5North Koreans – of which 4 Koreans were government officials.[1][2][3]
SeveralCIA-linkedanti-CastroCuban exiles were implicated by the evidence.
On 23 September 1983, a Boeing 737 operating between Karachi and Abu Dhabi crashed in the desert nearJebel Ali, UAE after a bomb planted by theAbu Nidal Organization exploded. All on board were killed.
Air India Flight 182 was anAir India Boeing 747 operating on theToronto–Montreal–London–Delhi route. On 23 June 1985 it was operated usingBoeing 747-237BregisteredVT-EFO. It disintegrated in midair en route from Montreal to London, at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m) over the Atlantic Ocean, as a result of the explosion from a bomb planted byBabbar Khalsa International.[4][5][6] The remnants of the airliner fell into the ocean approximately 120 miles (190 km) west-southwest of the southwest tip ofIreland, killing all aboard: 329 people, including 268Canadian citizens, 27British citizens and 24Indian citizens.[7] The bombing of Air India Flight 182 is the largest mass killing in Canadian history, the deadliest aviation accident in the history of Air India and was the deadliest act of aviation terrorism until theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001.[8]
Korean Air flight 858
Korean Air Flight 858 was an international passenger flight fromBaghdad toSeoul with stopovers inDubai andBangkok. On the 29th of November 1987, theBoeing 707-3B5C registered as HL7406 exploded midair over theAndaman Sea while flying the route from Dubai to Bangkok. All 115 occupants died. It was concluded thatKim Jong-il ordered North Korean agents to bomb the airplane in order to disturb the oncoming1988 Seoul Olympics.
Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduledPan Amtransatlantic flight fromFrankfurt toDetroit viaLondon andNew York. On 21 December 1988, N739PA, the aircraft operating the transatlantic leg of the route was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as theLockerbie bombing.[9] Large sections of the aircraft crashed onto a residential street inLockerbie,Scotland, killing 11 people on the ground. With a total of 270 people killed, it is the deadliest terror attack in the history of theUnited Kingdom.
On 11 December 1994, a bomb was planted on board a Philippine Airlines flight as a test run for theBojinka plot. One passenger died. The Bojinka plot was discovered before it could be carried out.
Air France Flight 8969 was anAir FranceAirbus A300 that washijacked on 24 December 1994 by theArmed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) atHouari Boumediene Airport,Algiers, Algeria during theAlgerian Civil War. The terrorists murdered three passengers and their intention was to blow up the plane over theEiffel Tower inParis. When the aircraft reachedMarseille, theNational Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), a counter-terror unit of the FrenchNational Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers.[10][11]
American Airlines Flight 11 was a domesticpassenger flight that washijacked by fiveal-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, as part of theSeptember 11 attacks.Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed the plane into theNorth Tower of theWorld Trade Center in New York City, killing all 92 people aboard and an unknown number in the building's impact zone. The aircraft involved, aBoeing 767-223ER,registration N334AA,[12] was flyingAmerican Airlines' daily scheduled morningtranscontinental service fromLogan International Airport inBoston,Massachusetts toLos Angeles International Airport inLos Angeles,California.
United Airlines Flight 175 was a scheduled domesticpassenger flight fromLogan International Airport, inBoston,Massachusetts, toLos Angeles International Airport, inLos Angeles,California. OnSeptember 11, 2001, theBoeing 767-200 operating the route washijacked by fiveal-Qaeda terroristsand was deliberately crashed into theSouth Tower of theWorld Trade Center inNew York City, killing all 65 people aboard and an unconfirmed number in the building's impact zone.
Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, the hijackers forcibly breached the cockpit and overpowered the pilot and first officer, allowing lead hijacker and trained pilotMarwan al-Shehhi to take over the controls. UnlikeFlight 11, which turned its transponder off, the aircraft's transponder was visible on New York Center's radar, and the aircraft deviated from the assigned flight path for four minutes before air traffic controllers noticed these changes at 08:51 EDT. They made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the cockpit. Unknown to the hijackers, several passengers and crew aboard madephone calls from the plane to family members and provided information about the hijackers and injuries suffered by passengers and crew.
American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduledAmerican Airlines domestictranscontinentalpassenger flight fromDulles International Airport inDulles, Virginia, toLos Angeles International Airport inLos Angeles,California. TheBoeing 757-223 aircraft serving the flight washijacked by five Saudi men affiliated withal-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, as part of theSeptember 11 attacks. They deliberately crashed the plane intothe Pentagon inArlington County, Virginia, nearWashington, D.C., killing all 64 people on board, including the five hijackers and six crew, as well as 125 people in the building.
Less than 35 minutes into the flight, the hijackers stormed the cockpit and forced the passengers, crew, and pilots to the rear of the aircraft.Hani Hanjour, one of the hijackers who was trained as a pilot, assumed control of the flight. Unknown to the hijackers, passengers aboard made telephone calls to friends and family and relayed information on the hijacking.
The hijackers crashed the aircraft into the western side of the Pentagon at 09:37 EDT. Many people witnessed the crash, and news sources began reporting on the incident within minutes. The impact severely damaged an area of the Pentagon and caused a large fire. A portion of the building collapsed; firefighters spent days working to fully extinguish the blaze. The damaged sections of the Pentagon were rebuilt in 2002, with occupants moving back into the completed areas that August. The 184 victims of the attack are memorialized in thePentagon Memorial adjacent to the crash site. The 1.93-acre (7,800 m2) park contains a bench for each of the victims, arranged according to their year of birth, ranging from 1930 to 1998.
United Airlines Flight 93 was adomestic scheduled passenger flight that washijacked by foural-Qaeda terrorists on board, as part of theSeptember 11 attacks. It crashed into a field inSomerset County, Pennsylvania, during an attempt by the passengers and crew to regain control of the aircraft. All 44 people on board were killed, including the four hijackers, but no one on the ground was injured. The aircraft involved, aBoeing 757-222, was flyingUnited Airlines' daily scheduled morning flight fromNewark International Airport inNewark, New Jersey toSan Francisco International Airport inSan Francisco,California.
The hijackers stormed the aircraft's cockpit 46 minutes after takeoff. The pilot and first officer took measures, such as de-activating the autopilot, to hinder the hijackers.Ziad Jarrah, who had trained as a pilot, took control of the aircraft and diverted it back toward the east coast, in the direction ofWashington, D.C., the U.S. capital.Khalid Sheikh Mohammed andRamzi bin al-Shibh, considered principal instigators of the attacks, have claimed that the intended target for Flight 93 was theU.S. Capitol Building.[13]
The first to crash wasVolga-AviaExpress Flight 1353, aTupolev Tu-134, registered RA-65080, which had been in service since 1977. The plane was flying fromMoscow toVolgograd. It leftDomodedovo International Airport at 22:30 on 24 August 2004. Communication with the plane was lost at 22:56 while it was flying overTula Oblast, 180 km south-east of Moscow. The remains of the aircraft were found on the ground several hours later. Thirty-four passengers and 9 crew members were on board the plane. All of them died in the crash. The flight recorders were recovered from the crash site. The flight data recorder showed that the plane was cruising uneventfully at 8100 metres, before indicating some type of high energy event likely originating near the right hand side of the aircraft at seat row 19. Both recorders stopped recording within 2–3 seconds of this event. This was followed by the separation of the fuselage at that location an undetermined amount of time afterward.
Just minutes after the first crash,Siberia Airlines Flight 1047, which had left Domodedovo International Airport at 21:35 on 24 August 2004, disappeared from the radar screens and crashed. TheTu-154 aircraft, registered RA-85556, which had been in service since 1982, was flying from Moscow toSochi. According to an unnamed government source of the Russian news agencyInterfax, the plane had broadcast ahijack warning while flying overRostov Oblast at 22:59. However, it was later determined that this was the aircraft'sEmergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), and that the crew of flight 1047 were not aware of any danger prior to the aircraft disappearing from radar. The plane disappeared from radar screens shortly after that and crashed. 38 passengers and 8 crew members were on board the plane, all of whom died. The debris of the aircraft was found on the morning of 25 August 2004, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from thework settlement ofGluboky inKamensky District ofRostov Oblast.[citation needed] The flight recorders were also recovered in this case; the flight data recorder along with wreckage analysis suggested an almost identical high-energy event to the one seen on flight 1353 took place near the right hand side of the aircraft at seat row 25, while the aircraft was cruising at 12100 metres. The blast resulted in a rapid decompression of the cabin, damage to the elevator and rudder controls, a substantial loss of electrical power, and severe damage to the fuselage and tail components. The ELT was triggered a half second after the event, either by a crew member or automatically. The data recorder stopped working shortly after the explosion, but the cockpit voice recorder continued recording until impact with the ground, during which most of the crew discussions were about the loss of cabin pressure and electrical systems. The crew were caught completely off guard by the event, and there is no evidence that the crew was aware of the detonation of an explosive device on board.
The two almost simultaneous crashes caused speculations about terrorism.PresidentVladimir Putin immediately ordered theFederal Security Service (FSB) to investigate the crashes. On 28 August 2004, the FSB had found traces of the explosiveRDX in the remains of both planes.Itar-Tass news agency reported on 30 August 2004, "without a shadow of a doubt, the FSB security service said that "both airplanes were blown up as a result of a terrorist attack". A little known group called the Islambouli Brigades claimed responsibility; the truth of those claims remains uncertain.[14]
Metrojet Flight 9268 was anAirbus A321 that took off fromSharm El Sheikh International Airport, Egypt, toPulkovo Airport inSaint Petersburg, Russia. About 23 minutes after takeoff at 6:13 EST (4:13 UTC) 31 October 2015, a bomb exploded in the aircraft, causing it to disintegrate in mid-air. All 217 passengers and 7 crew members died. On November 16, 2015, investigators found out that a bomb was placed on the aircraft. This accident has been attributed to terrorist bombing and is currently under criminal investigation.[15]
On 2 February 2016, 20 minutes after taking off fromMogadishu,Somalia, at 11:00 local time, en route toDjibouti City, at an altitude of about 14,000 ft (4,300 m), an explosion occurred aboard the aircraft, opening a hole in the fuselage behind the R2 door. It was reported that day that the explosion was most likely close to seats 15/16F, abeam the forwardwing root and the fuel tanks. There were 74 passengers and 7 crew on board at the time of the incident. The bomber was killed by the blast, which was determined to have come from a rigged laptop. The aircraft was evacuated safely, and the bomber was the only fatality. Two passengers suffered injuries of unspecified degree, but survived.[16]
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