KLM Flight 861

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KLM Flight 861
De gekaapte Jumbo is terugekeerd op Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 926-8612.jpg
PH-BUA at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on 29 November 1973
Hijacking
Date25 November 1973
Summary Aircraft hijacking
Site Dubai
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 747-206B [1]
Aircraft nameThe Mississippi
Operator KLM
Registration PH-BUA [1]
Flight origin Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Stopover Ellinikon International Airport, Athens, Greece
1st stopover Beirut International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon
2nd stopover Palam Airport, Delhi, India
Destination Tokyo International Airport, Tokyo, Japan
Passengers247 [1]
Crew17 [1]
Fatalities0
Survivors264
The crew with minister Tjerk Westerterp after the incident Minister Westerterp onderscheidt de heer Risseeuw als officier in de Orde van O..., Bestanddeelnr 926-8606.jpg
The crew with minister Tjerk Westerterp after the incident

KLM Flight 861, operated by a Boeing 747 registered PH-BUA and named "The Mississippi", was hijacked on 25 November 1973, by three young Arabs over Iraqi airspace on a scheduled Amsterdam-Tokyo flight with 247 passengers on board.

Contents

Incident

KLM Flight 861, captained by Issac Risseeuw, was a scheduled flight from Amsterdam (AMS) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) with planned stops at Athens (ATH), Beirut (BEY) and Delhi (DEL). The airplane was en route over Iraq when it was hijacked by three passengers, claiming to be members of the Arab Youth Organization for the Liberation of Palestine. They forced the plane to Damascus, Nicosia, Tripoli, Malta, and finally Dubai where the hijackers surrendered to authorities. All 247 passengers and 17 crew survived the hijacking.

Aftermath

The hijack was claimed by the Arab Nationalist Youth Organization. The flight number is still used for the Amsterdam to Tokyo direct route.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Hijacking description PP-SNT". Aviation Safety Network.