Incident Overview
Description
KLM Flight 861 was a scheduled flight from Amsterdam (AMS) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) with en route stops at Athens (ATH), Beirut (BEY) and Delhi (DEL). The airplane was en route over Iraq when it was hijacked by three passengers, claiming to be members of the Arab Youth Organization for the Liberation of Palestine. They forced the plane to land at Damascus (DAM) and an hour later demanded to be flow to Nicosia, Cyprus. At Nicosia they demanded the release of seven Palestine prisoners. When their demands were not met, the hijackers forced the crew to fly to Tripoli, Libya, where they wanted to surrender on the condition that they would be free to leave the country. This was not accepted by Libyan authorities. The main runway at Tripoli was blocked but the KLM crew managed to takeoff from the shorter runway and headed for Malta. After failed negotiations at Malta, the hijackers demanded to be flown to Baghdad. Iraq refused to accept the plane, just like Kuwait and Qatar. Because the plane ran out of fuel, they were allowed to land in Dubai. After failed negotiations at Dubai, the hijackers wanted to be flown to Aden, Yemen. Authorities in Yemen refused the plane to land. After circling over Aden for an hour, the flight returned to Dubai. The hijackers finally surrendered when they were told that they could leave the country
Primary Cause
Hijacking of an aircraft.Hijacking of an aircraft.Share on:
