Hijacking description
Last updated: 21 May 2013
| Status: | |
| Date: | 27 MAR 1993 |
| Type: | Airbus A320-231 |
| Operator: | Indian Airlines |
| Registration: | registration unknown |
| C/n / msn: | |
| First flight: | |
| Engines: | 2 IAE V2500-A1 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 11 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 192 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 203 |
| Airplane damage: | None |
| Location: | Amritsar-Raja Sansi Airport (ATQ) (India) |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL/VIDP), India |
| Hyderabad Airport (HDD/OPKD), Pakistan | |
| Flightnumber: | 439 |
Indian Airlines Flight 439, an Airbus A320 with 192 passengers and 11 crew, was hijacked during a domestic flight from Delhi (DEL) to Madras (MAA) via Hyderabad (HDD). A passenger, who claimed to have explosives strapped to his body, demanded to be flown to Lahore, Pakistan.
Because authorities in Lahore refused the aircraft permission to land, however, the pilot went to Raja Sansi Airport in Amritsar, India. There the hijacker made three demands : political asylum for himself in Pakistan, a press conference in Islamabad, and an investigation of the hijacking by Interpol rather than by Indian authorities. Although he set no deadlines, the hijacker referred to himself as a "human bomb " and threatened to blow up the plane.
The hijacker eventually surrendered and all passengers and crew members were released . A search of the aircraft located no explosives. The bomb that the man claimed to have strapped to his body was a hair dryer which he had hidden under his belt.
Events:
Sources:
» Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1993 / U.S. Department of Tranport, 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 Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport to Hyderabad Airport as the crow flies is 932 km (583 miles).
Distance from Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport to Hyderabad Airport as the crow flies is 932 km (583 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.
