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Iraqi Airways Flight 163

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(Redirected from Iraqi Airways Hijacking) 1986 aircraft hijacking and crash

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Iraqi Airways Flight 163
YI-AGJ, the Iraqi Airways Boeing 737-200 involved
Hijacking
Date25 December 1986
SummaryHijacking, explosion in cockpit leading to crash
SiteArar Domestic Airport, Arar, Saudi Arabia
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-270C
OperatorIraqi Airways
RegistrationYI-AGJ
Flight originSaddam International Airport
Baghdad, Iraq
DestinationQueen Alia International Airport
Amman, Jordan
Passengers91
Crew15
Fatalities63
Injuries35
Survivors43

Iraqi Airways Flight 163 was a Boeing 737-270C, registered YI-AGJ, that was hijacked in 1986. On 25 December 1986, en route from Baghdad's Saddam International Airport to Amman, Jordan, Flight 163 was hijacked by four men. Iraqi Airways security personnel tried to stop the hijackers, but a hand grenade was detonated in the passenger cabin, forcing the crew to initiate an emergency descent. Another hand grenade exploded in the cockpit, causing the aircraft to crash near Arar, Saudi Arabia where it broke in two and caught fire.

There were 106 people on board, and 60 passengers and 3 crew members died. The pilots who survived, and the surviving passengers were able to tell authorities what transpired on the aircraft. The hijacking was one of the deadliest ever, and was one of many in 1985 and 1986.

Shortly after the hijacking, the pro-Iranian group Islamic Jihad Organization (a widely used name for Hezbollah) claimed responsibility. One of the dead hijackers was later identified by the Central Intelligence Agency as a Lebanese national named Ribal Khalil Jallul, whose passport photo was matched to a Hezbollah martyr poster found near a mosque in Beirut. Iraq accused Iran of being behind the attack. Iraqi Airways has not retired flight number 163 as of 37 years later; in 2023. The number is still used on the same route (Baghdad to Amman).

See also

References

  1. "THE WORLD; 62 Are Killed In Hijacking Of Iraqi Jetliner". The New York Times. 28 December 1986.
  2. Robert Baer, See No Evil, Three Rivers Press, 2002. p 113

External links

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1986 (1986)
Jan 18 Aerovías Caravelle crashJan 28 VASP Flight 210Jan 31 Aer Lingus Flight 328Feb 16 China Airlines Flight 2265Mar 2 Aeroflot Flight F-77Mar 31 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940Apr 2 TWA Flight 840Apr 5 Ljósufjöll air crashApr 17 Hindawi affairMay 3 Air Lanka Flight 512May 3 China Airlines Flight 334Jun 18 Grand Canyon National Park collisionJul 2 Aeroflot Flight 2306Aug 3 LIAT Flight 319Aug 16 Sudan Airways Fokker F-27 shootdownAug 31 Aeroméxico Flight 498Sep 5 Pan Am Flight 73Oct 5 Corporate Air Services HPF821Oct 19 Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 crashOct 20 Aeroflot Flight 6502Oct 26 Thai Airways International Flight 620Nov 6 British Int'l Helicopters Chinook crashNov 17 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628Dec 12 Aeroflot Flight 892Dec 25 Iraqi Airways Flight 163
1985   ◄    ►   1987
Aviation accidents and incidents in Saudi Arabia
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