Narrative:
Four Shiite Muslims armed with automatic weapons stormed onto the apron at Beirut International Airport (BEY) in a car and commandeered a Cyprus Airways Boeing 707 aircraft. The aircraft was preparing for departure to Cyprus at the time of the seizure. The hijackers refused to allow passengers to board the aircraft but kept the nine member flight crew and three Lebanese employees of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, as hostages.
The hijackers demanded the release of two Lebanese men jailed in Cyprus for the hijacking of a Libyan chartered Romanian airliner to Cyprus on June 23, 1983. The five hour ordeal ended when Cypriot authorities agreed to consider their demand. The crew and its aircraft later returned to Cyprus unharmed.
| Status: | |
| Date: | Thursday 7 February 1985 |
| Type: |  Boeing 707-123B |
| Operator: | Cyprus Airways |
| Registration: | registration unknown |
| MSN: | |
| First flight: | |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 12 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 12 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Beirut International Airport (BEY) ( Lebanon)
|
| Phase: | Standing (STD) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Beirut International Airport (BEY/OLBA), Lebanon |
| Larnaca Airport (LCA/LCLK), Cyprus | |
| Flightnumber: | CY43 |
Four Shiite Muslims armed with automatic weapons stormed onto the apron at Beirut International Airport (BEY) in a car and commandeered a Cyprus Airways Boeing 707 aircraft. The aircraft was preparing for departure to Cyprus at the time of the seizure. The hijackers refused to allow passengers to board the aircraft but kept the nine member flight crew and three Lebanese employees of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, as hostages.
The hijackers demanded the release of two Lebanese men jailed in Cyprus for the hijacking of a Libyan chartered Romanian airliner to Cyprus on June 23, 1983. The five hour ordeal ended when Cypriot authorities agreed to consider their demand. The crew and its aircraft later returned to Cyprus unharmed.
Classification:
HijackPhotos
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 Larnaca Airport as the crow flies is 206 km (129 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from Beirut International Airport to Larnaca Airport as the crow flies is 206 km (129 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
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.
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