Incident Overview

Description
An anonymous note with a bomb threat was passed on to a flight attendant during a flight between Berlin and Budapest. The note stated that an explosive device had been placed in a red bag pack in the cargo hold. The bomb was set to go off below an altitude of 120 meters and could only be deactivated by persons on the ground at Berlin-Tempelhof Airport, on the Western side of Berlin. A crew member was able to enter the cargo hold through a hatch in the cabin and failed to locate the red bag pack. For safety reasons the crew elected to divert to Poprad Airport, which was at an elevation of 718 meters. After landing no explosive device was found. All passengers were interrogated and on January 4, 1981, the hijacker finally confessed. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Source of Information
https://www.ddr-im-blick.de/jahrgaenge/jahrgang-1981/report/ermittlung-des-taeters-einer-angedrohten-flugzeugentfuehrung/, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13509051.htmlhttps://www.ddr-im-blick.de/jahrgaenge/jahrgang-1981/report/ermittlung-des-taeters-einer-angedrohten-flugzeugentfuehrung/, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13509051.htmlPrimary Cause
Anonymous note containing a bomb threat.Anonymous note containing a bomb threat.Share on: