KLM Flight 861

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KLM Flight 861
Boeing 747-206B[1]
Aircraft nameThe Mississippi
OperatorKLM
RegistrationPH-BUA[1]
Flight originSchiphol Airport, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
StopoverEllinikon International Airport, Athens, Greece
1st stopoverBeirut International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon
2nd stopoverPalam Airport, Delhi, India
DestinationTokyo International Airport, Tokyo, Japan
Passengers247[1]
Crew17[1]
Fatalities0
Survivors264
The crew with minister Tjerk Westerterp after the incident

Arabs over Iraqi airspace on a scheduled Amsterdam-Tokyo
flight with 247 passengers on board.

Incident

KLM Flight 861, captained by Issac Risseeuw, was a scheduled flight from Amsterdam (AMS) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) with planned stops at Athens (ATH), Beirut (BEY) and Delhi (DEL). The airplane was en route over Iraq when it was hijacked by three passengers, claiming to be members of the Arab Youth Organization for the Liberation of Palestine. They forced the plane to Damascus, Nicosia, Tripoli, Malta, and finally Dubai where the hijackers surrendered to authorities. All 247 passengers and 17 crew survived the hijacking.

Aftermath

The hijack was claimed by the Arab Nationalist Youth Organization. The flight number is still used for the Amsterdam to Tokyo direct route.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Hijacking description PP-SNT". Aviation Safety Network.