Incident Overview
Date: Friday 8 December 1972
Aircraft Type: Boeing 720-060B
Owner/operator: Ethiopian Airlines
Location: Addis Ababa-Haile Selassie I International Airport (ADD) –
ÿ Ethiopia
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Substantial, repaired
Casualties: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 103
Component Affected: Aircraft ? specifically, the inboard engine and rudder controls.Aircraft ? specifically, the inboard engine and rudder controls.
Category: Unlawful Interference
On Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708, five individuals, including six hijackers, engaged in a violent act during a flight. They began shooting, killing six passengers and injuring one. A grenade was activated, causing damage to the inboard engine and rudder controls. Smoke filled the cabin, leading to an emergency landing and a return to Addis Ababa. The hijackers were members of the Eritrean Liberation Front.On Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708, five individuals, including six hijackers, engaged in a violent act during a flight. They began shooting, killing six passengers and injuring one. A grenade was activated, causing damage to the inboard engine and rudder controls. Smoke filled the cabin, leading to an emergency landing and a return to Addis Ababa. The hijackers were members of the Eritrean Liberation Front.
Description
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708 was an international service from Addis Ababa (ADD) to Asmara, Athens, Rome and Paris. Some 13 minutes after departure five men and two women stood up, pulled out guns and began shouting orders in Amharic. Security guards opened fire and killed six of the hijackers. The seventh was injured. During the shooting one of the hijackers activated a grenade. One of the passengers picked up the grenade and lobbed it toward an unoccupied part of the passenger cabin. The grenade exploded, damaging an inboard engine as well as the plane’s rudder controls. Smoke filled the cabin. The pilot returned to Addis Ababa for an emergency landing. The hijackers were members of the Eritrean Liberation Front.
Primary Cause
A violent hijacking and armed conflict involving the Eritrean Liberation Front.A violent hijacking and armed conflict involving the Eritrean Liberation Front.Share on:
