Incident Overview
Description
Indian Airlines Flight 427, a Boeing 737 aircraft with 135 passengers and six crew members, was hijacked while en route to Srinagar (SXR) from Delhi (DEL). The hijacker demanded to be flown to Kabul, Afghanistan. He claimed to be a senior member of the Hezbul Mujahedin, a group fighting to unite Indian-controlled Kashmir to that portion of the region controlled by Pakistan. He was armed with two pistols and a hand grenade and fired a bullet into the roof of the aircraft, forcing it to remain below 14,000 feet. The government of Pakistan refused the aircraft overflight permission to reach Afghanistan, and it was forced to land in Amritsar, India. Upon landing, Indian soldiers and commandos took up positions around the airliner as authorities began negotiating with the hijacker. Eleven hours after the incident began, and with the hijacker still refusing to surrender, commandos stormed the plane and killed the hijacker.
Primary Cause
Hijacking of an aircraft by a passenger with a political motive and affiliation with a militant group.Hijacking of an aircraft by a passenger with a political motive and affiliation with a militant group.Share on:
