Incident Overview
Description
A Syrian national hijacked Royal Jordanian flight 435 en route to Damascus, Syria, from Amman, Jordan. About ten minutes into the flight, the hijacker told a flight attendant that he wanted the plane, an Airbus A320 aircraft with 84 passengers and 12 crew, to be diverted to Germany or another European country. The man was armed with an “old” pistol and an “almost worn-out” hand grenade, which he had smuggled aboard the plane in a portable cassette player. After the hijacker fired two shots and pulled the pin of the grenade, he was shot and killed by a Jordanian air marshal. The grenade rolled down the aisle of the plane and detonated under a seat. The blast injured 15 passengers, none seriously, and tore a 12″ deep hole in the floor of the cabin of the plane. The pilot and copilot were able to return the plane to Queen Alia International Airport in Amman. Several members of the hijacker’s family were on board the plane, but they were not believed to have involvement in the hijacking. The hijacker reportedly had lived briefly in Germany and had made several attempts to return there. His motive for hijacking the plane allegedly was to seek asylum because he did not want to return to Syria.
Primary Cause
Hijacking of an aircraft.Hijacking of an aircraft.Share on:
