Narrative:A man with a toy gun and two female accomplices hijacked a Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus A300 aircraft with 139 passengers on board and forced it to land in Nairobi, Kenya. The hijacker took control of the aircraft after it took off from Jeddah en route to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The passengers and crew, with the exception of the pilot and co-pilot, were released after the plane landed at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Negotiations with the hijackers, who demanded the plane be refuelled and flown to Rome, Italy, took place during a total news blackout by Kenyan authorities. After 16 hours, the aircraft was reportedly stormed by members of Kenya's hostage rescue team, the General Service Unit, and the male hijacker was shot and wounded. The
three hijackers were reportedly among deportees placed aboard the aircraft by Saudi authorities in Jeddah.
Classification:
Hijack
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 Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport to Addis Ababa-Bole Airport as the crow flies is 1404 km (878 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.