Narrative:
A hijacker entered the cockpit and told the pilot that an accomplice had explosives and would blow up the aircraft at the hijacker's signal. He demanded the release of 25 prisoners in Tunisia including several union leaders and flight to Tripoli, Libya. He was told they could not land at Tripoli due to poor weather. He later agreed to landing at Palermo. Sicily, where after about 10 hours of negotiation the hijacker surrendered and requested political asylum. He did not have an accomplice and no explosives were found. He claimed to be acting on behalf of a group he called 'Les vivants' (the living) and described as a Tunisian political renewal organization (reportedly not known In Tunisia).
| Status: | |
| Date: | Monday 14 January 1980 |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 |
| Operator: | Alitalia |
| Registration: | I-DIZI |
| MSN: | 47432/525 |
| First flight: | 1969 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 87 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 93 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Palermo-Punta Raisi Airport (PMO) ( Italy)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Roma-Fiumicino Airport (FCO/LIRF), Italy |
| Tunis-Carthage Airport (TUN/DTTA), Tunisia | |
| Flightnumber: | AZ864 |
A hijacker entered the cockpit and told the pilot that an accomplice had explosives and would blow up the aircraft at the hijacker's signal. He demanded the release of 25 prisoners in Tunisia including several union leaders and flight to Tripoli, Libya. He was told they could not land at Tripoli due to poor weather. He later agreed to landing at Palermo. Sicily, where after about 10 hours of negotiation the hijacker surrendered and requested political asylum. He did not have an accomplice and no explosives were found. He claimed to be acting on behalf of a group he called 'Les vivants' (the living) and described as a Tunisian political renewal organization (reportedly not known In Tunisia).
Classification:
HijackSources:
» L'unità 16-1-1980Photos
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 Roma-Fiumicino Airport to Tunis-Carthage Airport as the crow flies is 574 km (358 miles).
Distance from Roma-Fiumicino Airport to Tunis-Carthage Airport as the crow flies is 574 km (358 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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