| Status: | |
| Date: | 01 JAN 1976 |
| Time: | 05:30 |
| Type: | Boeing 720-023B |
| Operator: | Middle East Airlines - MEA |
| Registration: | OD-AFT |
| C/n / msn: | 18020/165 |
| First flight: | 1960 |
| Engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney JT3D-1-MC7 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 15 / Occupants: 15 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 66 / Occupants: 66 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 81 / Occupants: 81 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 37 km (23.1 mls) NW of Al Qaysumah (Saudi Arabia)
 |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Beirut International Airport (BEY/OLBA), Lebanon |
| Destination airport: | Dubai Airport (DXB/OMDB), United Arab Emirates |
| Flightnumber: | 438 |
Narrative:En route at FL370 from Beirut to Dubai, a bomb exploded in the forward baggage compartment. The aircraft crashed into the desert.
Events:
Sources:
» Aircraft hijackings and other criminal acts against civil aviation : statistics and narrative reports / FAA
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Beirut International Airport to Dubai Airport as the crow flies is 2127 km (1329 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.