A lone male armed with a hand grenade hijacked a Middle East Airlines Boeing 707 aircraft moments before the aircraft landed at the Larnaca Airport, Cyprus. After landing, all passengers and 5 of the 10 crew members were allowed to deplane. The hijacker stated that he seized the aircraft in retaliation for the Royal Jordanian Airlines (ALIA) aircraft hijacking which occurred on June 11, 1985. The Palestinian hijacker initially demanded the release of the eight Jordanian air marshals who were aboard the hijacked ALIA aircraft. He was informed that the sky marshals were not in custody. Shortly thereafter, the hijacker agreed to end the hijacking. After giving up the hand grenade, the hijacker was allowed to board a nearby Royal Jordanian Airlines aircraft and was flown to Amman, Jordan where he was taken into custody by Jordanian authorities.