Incident Overview

Date: Saturday 21 February 1970
Aircraft Type: Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VI-R
Owner/operator: Austrian Airlines
Registration Number: OE-LCU
Location: near Frankfurt – ÿ Germany
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Substantial, repaired
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 38
Component Affected: Fuselage of Lufthansa aircraftFuselage of Lufthansa aircraft
Category: Unlawful Interference
Narrative
On the same day, two separate aviation incidents occurred. A catastrophic explosion occurred in the forward freight hold of a Lufthansa aircraft departing Frankfurt, resulting in a hole through the fuselage. Simultaneously, a bomb exploded on a Swissair Convair CV-990 bound for Tel Aviv, resulting in the deaths of all 47 passengers. The investigation into these incidents was subsequently closed due to the inability to identify and arrest the perpetrators.On the same day, two separate aviation incidents occurred. A catastrophic explosion occurred in the forward freight hold of a Lufthansa aircraft departing Frankfurt, resulting in a hole through the fuselage. Simultaneously, a bomb exploded on a Swissair Convair CV-990 bound for Tel Aviv, resulting in the deaths of all 47 passengers. The investigation into these incidents was subsequently closed due to the inability to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

Description

At FL100, 20 minutes after takeoff from Frankfurt, an explosion in the forward freight hold blew a hole of 3’x2′ through the bottom of the fuselage. The Caravelle safely returned to Frankfurt. On the same day, a bomb exploded aboard a Tel Aviv-bound Convair CV-990 of Swissair after takeoff from Zrich. The aircraft crashed, killing all 47 on board. It was suspected that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was responsible for both attacks. However, the federal prosecutor’s office closed the criminal investigation into the perpetrators of the attack in November 2000 because the attackers could not be identified and arrested. Both bombings led to a UN treaty adopted in 1971, named Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation.

Source of Information

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA6SRE7JHDMGS0RVYUU11DEB4LQ-WEST-GERMANY-EXPLOSION-DAMAGES-AIRLINER-AND-FORCES-IT-TO-RETURN/query/Frankfurt+airporthttps://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA6SRE7JHDMGS0RVYUU11DEB4LQ-WEST-GERMANY-EXPLOSION-DAMAGES-AIRLINER-AND-FORCES-IT-TO-RETURN/query/Frankfurt+airport

Primary Cause

Unidentified perpetrators of a bomb attack on a commercial aircraft.Unidentified perpetrators of a bomb attack on a commercial aircraft.

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