Narrative:Sudan Airways Flight 259, a Boeing 707, was on a scheduled flight from Baghdad, Iraq, to Khartoum, Sudan, with 124 passengers and an unknown number of crewmembers when a male Sudanese passenger passed a note to a flight attendant that said he would blow up the aircraft unless it was diverted to Israel. He also demanded that the contents of the note be made known to the other passengers. The pilot did relay the note to the passengers but continued on to Khartoum. The hijacker was arrested by the police and a subsequent search of the aircraft disclosed no explosives. There were no known injuries during the incident.
Classification:
Hijack
Sources:
» Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1986 / U.S. Department of Transport, FAA, Office of Civil Aviation Security
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 Baghdad-Saddam International Airport to Khartoum-Civil Airport as the crow flies is 2275 km (1422 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.