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TWA Flight 840
The aircraft involved in the incident, seen in 1997
Trans World Airlines Flight 840 was a regularly scheduled international flight from Los Angeles to Cairo via New York City, Rome, and Athens on April 2, 1986. About 20 minutes before landing in Athens, a bomb was detonated on the aircraft while it was over Argos, Greece, blasting a hole in the plane's starboard side. Four passengers died after being blown out, while another seven were injured by flying shrapnel and debris. The dead were identified as Alberto Ospina, a Colombian-born American from Stratford, Conn.; Demetra Stylian, 52; her daughter, Maria Klug, 25, and her granddaughter, Demetra, 18 months old, all from Annapolis, Md.[citation needed] The aircraft then made a successful emergency landing with no further loss of life.[4]
The Boeing 727-231 involved in the incident was delivered to TWA in 1974, with the registration N54340.[5][6] It was fitted with 3 P&W JT8D-5 turbofan engines.[5]
Flight
The flight originated in Los Angeles on a Boeing 747 and transferred to a Boeing 727 in Rome for the remainder of the flight.[7] After taking off from Rome, Italy, the flight remained uneventful until around 20 minutes before landing at Athens, when the aircraft was at around 11,000 feet (3,400m).[8] A bomb hidden underneath seat 10F during an earlier leg of the flight detonated, blasting a hole in the starboard side of the fuselage in front of the wing.[7]
Four American passengers, including an eight-month-old infant, were ejected through the hole to their deaths below. The victims were identified as a Colombian-American man; and a woman, her daughter, and her infant granddaughter.[7] Seven others on the aircraft were injured by shrapnel as the cabin suffered a rapid decompression. However, as the aircraft was in the middle of its approach to Athens, the explosion was not as catastrophic as it would have been at a higher altitude.[7] The remaining 110 passengers survived the incident as pilot Richard "Pete" Petersen made an emergency landing.[7]
Aftermath
The bodies of three of the four victims were later recovered from an unused Greek Air Force landing strip near Argos; the fourth was found in the sea.[7]
A group calling itself the Arab Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility, saying it was committed in retaliation for American imperialism and clashes with Libya in the Gulf of Sidra the week before.[9]
The aircraft was substantially damaged but was repaired and returned to service until TWA ceased operations in 2001. The aircraft was scrapped in 2002.[10]
Investigation
Investigators concluded that the bomb contained one pound of plastic explosive. As the bomb was placed on the floor of the cabin, the explosion tore a hole downward, where the fuselage absorbed the most damage. It is suspected it had been placed beneath the seat on a previous journey by a Lebanese woman (later arrested, never convicted) who worked for the Abu Nidal Organisation, which was dedicated to the destruction of the state of Israel.[11] They had previously hijacked and bombed several other aircraft, as well as committing various terrorist attacks in parts of the Middle East.[12]
See also
Daallo Airlines Flight 159 - Similar incident in which a suicide bomber detonated a bomb on board, whereafter the plane managed to make a successful emergency landing
Pan Am Flight 830 - Another 747 that landed safely after a bomb exploded
United Airlines Flight 811 - Experienced an explosion after the cargo door opened in mid-flight, causing several passengers to be blown out of the aircraft
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