Incident Overview
Description
A Kuwait Airways Boeing 707 was parked at Beirut Airport, Lebanon when 12 hijackers rode up to the aircraft in an automobile. They were firing their submachine guns and boarded the airplane. They demanded the release of Musa al-Sadr, a Lebanese-Iranian philosopher and Shi’a religious leader, who disappeared while on a trip to Libya in August, 1978. They also made other demands related to the return of their leader, and called attention to his disappearance. They demanded fuel so the aircraft could be flown to Iran but Iran officials made it known that they would not allow the aircraft to land in Iran. Or at least two occasions, they fired their weapons at the control tower. Negotiations continued for about nine hours. After they reportedly were told that an international delegation would press for a United Nations Inquiry into the disappearance, they came off the plane, with eight passengers as hostages, and they surrendered. The hostages were released later.
Primary Cause
Hijacking and demands for the release of a political figure.Hijacking and demands for the release of a political figure.Share on:
