Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209

Last updated

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209
Afriqiyah Airways, 5A-ONB, Airbus A320-214 (33760018428).jpg
The aircraft involved in the incident, photographed in 2019
Hijacking
Date23 December 2016 (2016-12-23)
Summary Hijacking
Site Malta International Airport, Luqa, Malta
Aircraft
Aircraft type Airbus A320-214
Operator Afriqiyah Airways
IATA flight No.8U209
ICAO flight No.AAW209
Call signAfriqiyah 209
Registration 5A-ONB
Flight origin Sabha Airport, Libya
Destination Mitiga International Airport, Libya
Occupants118
Passengers111
Crew7
Fatalities0
Survivors118

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209 was a domestic passenger flight from Sabha to Tripoli, Libya that was hijacked on 23 December 2016 and made a forced landing in Luqa, Malta. The flight was operated by Afriqiyah Airways, Libya's state airline, and carried 111 passengers: 82 males, 28 females and one infant. [1] The two hijackers later released all of the hostages and surrendered to the authorities. [2]

Contents

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A320-214, registration 5A-ONB, msn 3236. The aircraft was equipped with two CFM International CFM56 engines. [3]

Hijacking

The aircraft, carrying seven crew and 111 passengers, [3] had taken off from Sabha International Airport at 08:10 local time and was due to land at Tripoli at 09:20. [4] The two hijackers threatened to blow up the aircraft with hand grenades, according to Malta state television. [2] One hijacker declared himself to be "pro-Gaddafi" and that he would release all passengers, but not the crew, if his unknown demands were accepted. [2] The pilots had tried to land in Libya, but the hijackers refused their request. [2] The aircraft was forced to land at Malta International Airport at 11:32 am local time. [1] The aircraft's engines were still running after it was surrounded by the Maltese military. [5] One hijacker was reported to have appeared at the aircraft door waving a large green flag similar to the Libyan flag under Gaddafi. [6] He then put the flag down and returned inside. [6]

Response

Negotiating teams were placed on standby and Maltese military units arrived at the airport. [2] Upon landing, at least 25 passengers had been released by the two hijackers, and negotiations were held. [5] Following the release of all passengers and crew, the hijackers, Suhah Mussa and Ahmed Ali, surrendered to the Maltese authorities and were taken into custody. [7] The weapons they had brandished were later found to be replicas. [8]

Aftermath

On 2 December 2020, Suhah Mussa was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment and fined €9,990 after he pleaded guilty to the charges against him. [9]

Film

On the day of the hijacking, the Malta airport was being used to film scenes for the movie Entebbe about the 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139 and the Israeli-conducted Operation Entebbe in Uganda, which had resulted in the release of most of the passengers and the deaths of the hostage-takers. Scenes of the real-life hostages exiting the Afriqiyah plane were filmed, edited and inserted in the movie, and producer Melvin Rotherberg qualified the event as a "blessing from the sky on a day of bad acting." Some of the passengers were subsequently cast as extras in the movie. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entebbe raid</span> 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist operation

The Entebbe raid or Operation Entebbe, officially codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda. It was launched in response to the hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight operated by Air France between the cities of Tel Aviv and Paris. During a stopover in Athens, the aircraft was hijacked by two Palestinian PFLP–EO and two German RZ members, who diverted the flight to Libya and then to Uganda, where they landed at Entebbe International Airport to be joined by other terrorists. Once in Uganda, the group enjoyed support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan Airlines</span> Flag carrier of Libya

Libyan Airlines, formerly known as Libyan Arab Airlines over several decades, is the flag carrier of Libya. Based in Tripoli, it operates scheduled passenger and cargo services within Libya and to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the majority of which leave from Tripoli International Airport. Benina International Airport in Benghazi serves as a secondary base. Libyan Airlines also operates Hajj services. The company is wholly owned by the government of Libya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan Am Flight 73</span> 1986 airliner hijacking

Pan Am Flight 73 was a Pan American World Airways flight from Bombay, India, to New York, United States, with scheduled stops in Karachi, Pakistan, and Frankfurt, West Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TWA Flight 847</span> 1985 aircraft hijacking

TWA Flight 847 was a regularly scheduled Trans World Airlines flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles. On the morning of June 14, 1985, Flight 847 was hijacked soon after take off from Athens. The hijackers demanded the release of 700 Shia Muslims from Israeli custody and took the plane repeatedly to Beirut and Algiers. Later Western analysis considered them members of the Hezbollah group, an allegation Hezbollah rejects.

Unit 777, also known as Task Force 777, is a tier two special force in the Egyptian Army, falling under the El-Sa'ka Force. They specializes in black operations, commando style raids, counterterrorism, executive protection, hostage rescue, irregular warfare, manhunting, and special operations in behind enemy lines. It was created in 1978 by the government of Anwar Sadat in response to concerns of increased terrorist activity following the expulsion of Soviet military advisors from the country by Sadat and his efforts to achieve peace with Israel.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1976.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afriqiyah Airways</span> State-owned airline based in Tripoli, Libya

Afriqiyah Airways is a Libyan state-owned airline based in Tripoli, Libya. It was established in 2001 and operates both domestic and international flights. The airline's main hub is Tripoli International Airport (TIP), and it serves a wide range of destinations across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malta International Airport</span> Airport in Luqa, Malta

Malta International Airport is the only airport in Malta, and it serves the whole of the Maltese Islands. It is located on the island of Malta, southwest of the Maltese capital, Valletta, in the town of Luqa, and occupies the location of the former RAF Luqa. The airport serves as the main hub for KM Malta Airlines and Medavia besides being an operating base for Ryanair and its subsidiary Malta Air. It is also home to the Area Control Center and hosts the annual Malta Airshow. The airport is operated by Malta International Airport plc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114</span> 1973 Israeli shootdown of an airliner

Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 was a regularly scheduled flight from Tripoli to Cairo, through Benghazi, that was shot down in 1973 by Israeli fighter jets after it entered by mistake, due to a system malfunction, the airspace of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula – then under Israeli occupation – resulting in the death of 108 passengers and crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitiga International Airport</span> International airport serving Tripoli, Libya

Mitiga International Airport is an airport that serves Tripoli, Libya, located about 8 kilometres east of Tripoli's city centre. Since 2018 it has been the sole international airport serving Tripoli following the closure of Tripoli International Airport after it was severely damaged in the second Libyan civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tripoli International Airport</span> Former airport in Libya

Tripoli International Airport is a closed international airport built to serve Tripoli, the capital city of Libya. The airport is located in the area of Qasr bin Ghashir, 24 kilometres (15 mi) from central Tripoli. It used to be the hub for Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways, and Buraq Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benina International Airport</span> Airport in Benina, Libya

Benina International Airport serves Benghazi, Libya. It is located in the borough of Benina, 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of Benghazi, from which it takes its name. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau of Libya and is the second largest in the country after Tripoli International Airport. Benina International is also the secondary hub of both Buraq Air and flag carrier, Libyan Airlines. As of 17 July 2014 all flights to the airport were suspended due to fighting in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Al Flight 426 hijacking</span> Passenger flight hijacked in 1968

El Al Flight 426 was an El Al passenger flight hijacked on 23 July 1968 by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), setting off a wave of hijackings by the PFLP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103</span> 1992 mid-air collision

Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 was a Boeing 727-2L5 with 10 crew members — 5 of them relief crew — and 147 passengers on board that collided with a LARAF Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23UB on 22 December 1992. All 157 people on board flight 1103 were killed, while the pilot and instructor of the MiG-23 ejected and survived. It was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Libya at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771</span> 2010 passenger plane crash in Tripoli, Libya

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 was a scheduled international Afriqiyah Airways passenger flight that crashed on 12 May 2010 at about 06:01 local time on approach to Tripoli International Airport, about 1,200 metres short of the runway. Of the 104 passengers and crew on board, 103 were killed. The sole survivor was a 9-year-old Dutch boy. The crash of Flight 771 was the third hull-loss of an Airbus A330 involving fatalities, occurring eleven months after the crash of Air France Flight 447.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 2011.

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Libya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EgyptAir Flight 181</span> 2016 aircraft hijacking

EgyptAir Flight 181 was a domestic passenger flight from Borg El Arab Airport in Alexandria, Egypt, to Cairo International Airport. On 29 March 2016, the flight was hijacked by an Egyptian man claiming to wear an explosive belt and forced to divert to Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus. Most passengers and crew were released by the hijacker shortly after landing. The hijacker surrendered about seven hours later, and everybody escaped from the aircraft unharmed. The belt was later revealed to have contained mobile phones and no explosives. The aircraft involved in the incident was an EgyptAir Airbus A320-200.

References

  1. 1 2 "Developing story: Hijacked Libyan plane lands in Malta; hijackers threaten to blow up aircraft". Times of Malta . 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Libyan plane hijack: Two hijackers 'with grenades threaten to blow up' Afriqiyah Airways flight in Malta". The Daily Telegraph . 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Libya Malta hijack: First passengers released at airport". BBC News Online. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Libyan Afriqiyah Airways plane landed in Malta 'may be hijacked', says Maltese PM". The Independent . 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Libyan plane hijack ends peacefully in Malta". Al Jazeera. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Hijackers release passengers after seizing Libyan Afriqiyah Airways flight". Sky News. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  8. ↑ Nsubuga, Jimmy. "Libyan plane hijackers were carrying fake guns and grenades". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "Plane hijacker jailed 25 years, fined €10,000". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  10. ↑ Tamplin, Harley (23 December 2016). "Plane hijacking interrupts film crew shooting fake plane hijacking". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 24 December 2016.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.