ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-266 SU-AYH Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA)
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Status:
Date:Sunday 24 November 1985
Time:20:15
Type:Silhouette image of generic B732 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Boeing 737-266
Operator:EgyptAir
Registration: SU-AYH
MSN: 21191/450
First flight: 1976-02-26 (9 years 9 months)
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17
Crew:Fatalities: / Occupants: 6
Passengers:Fatalities: / Occupants: 92
Total:Fatalities: 60 / Occupants: 98
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA) (   Malta)
Phase: Standing (STD)
Nature:International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH/LGAT), Greece
Destination airport:Cairo International Airport (CAI/HECA), Egypt
Flightnumber:MS648
Narrative:
On November 23, at 19:35 the EgyptAir Boeing 737 was hijacked by 3 men. The Egyptian security guard who was onboard shot and killed one of the hijackers before being shot and wounded himself, along with two flight attendants. Although the hijackers demanded to be flown to Tunisia or Libya, they agreed to land at Malta for refueling were it landed at 21:15. At Malta, the two wounded cabin crew members were released, along with 11 women. Because Maltese authorities refused to refuel the plane unless all passengers were released, the hijackers threatened to kill a passenger every 10 minutes. A total of 5 additional people were shot and thrown off the aircraft, two of them were killed.
After 22 hours of negotiation the plane was stormed by Egyptian forces. In the fight which followed hand grenades were thrown into the passenger cabin, causing a fire.

Classification:
Hijack
Destroyed on ground
Damaged on the ground

Sources:
» Aircraft hijackings and other criminal acts against civil aviation : statistics and narrative reports / FAA


Photos

photo of Boeing-737-266-SU-AYH
accident date: 24-11-1985
type: Boeing 737-266
registration: SU-AYH
 

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 Athens-Ellinikon International Airport to Cairo International Airport as the crow flies is 1109 km (693 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.
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