Date:	Saturday 9 August 1997
Time:
Type:	Boeing 727
Owner/operator:	Air Gabon
Registration:
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 100
Aircraft damage:	None
Category:	UI
Location:	Franceville/Mvengue Airport (MVB) -   Gabon
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Franceville/Mvengue Airport (MVB/FOON)
Destination airport:	Kigali-Gregoire Kayibanda Airport (KGL/HRYR)

Narrative:
A Boeing 727 aircraft en route from Franceville, Gabon, to Kigali, Rwanda, was hijacked by refugees who were being repatriated to Rwanda. More than 100 refugees were aboard the chartered Gabonese aircraft. Twenty minutes into the flight, the refugees attacked the pilot and demanded to fly to South Africa. The pilot managed to maneuver the aircraft back to the Franceville airport. Upon landing, the plane was surrounded and seized by Gabonese soldiers while the pilot escaped through a window.

Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1997 / FAA, Office of Civil Aviation Security

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