Narrative:Using a homemade gasoline bomb and knives, three Syrian male hijackers commandeered the aircraft. They demanded to be flown to Switzerland but later agreed to land in Malta where they surrendered after being promised a press conference. During the press conference on October 17, they stated the hijacking was done to express anger about unsettled financial problems and they chose to leave Libya by hijacking an aircraft because they did not have passports.
Classification:
Hijack
Sources:
» Jan F. Homma
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 Hon Airport to Tripoli International Airport as the crow flies is 474 km (296 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.