 N60CZ, the aircraft involved in the accident in April 1991 atOrlando International Airport while still in service withComair. | |
| Bombing | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 19, 1994 |
| Summary | In-flight explosion by bombing, unsolved crash |
| Site | nearEnrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport Colón, Panama |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante |
| Operator | Alas Chiricanas |
| Registration | HP-1202AC |
| Flight origin | Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport Colón, Panama |
| Destination | Tocumen International Airport Panama City, Panama |
| Passengers | 18 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 21 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901,registered HP-1202AC, was anEmbraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft flying en route fromColón city toPanama City which exploded shortly after departingEnrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport, on the night of July 19, 1994. All 21 on board were killed in the bombing. Twelve of the victims wereJewish.[1] Both Panamanian andAmerican authorities consider the bombing an unsolved crime and an act ofterrorism.
The wreckage of the Bandeirante was strewn about theSanta Rita Mountains near Colón. Panamanian investigators quickly determined that the explosion had been caused by a bomb, probably detonated by asuicide bomber aboard the aircraft. Only one body was not claimed by relatives; this body is believed to be that of a man named Jamal Lya.[2] Officials suspected that the incident was an act of terrorism byHezbollah directed against Jews in part because it took place one day after theAMIA bombing inBuenos Aires, and due to an expression of support by "Ansar Allah", a Hezbollah affiliate in South America.[3][4]
In 2018, the President of PanamaJuan Carlos Varela said "recent evidence" and intelligence reports "clearly show it was a terrorist attack," and that he would ask local and international authorities to reopen the investigation. TheFBI have in its investigations identified the perpetrator to have been a passenger named Ali Hawa Jamal.[1]