Date: 23 November 1996

Location: Moroni, Comoros

Type of event: terrorism

Description:

An Ethiopian Boeing 767 passenger jet flying from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed during a hijacking. The three hijackers, male, are believed to have been Ethiopians and were drunk. The pilot was instructed to fly to Australia but did not have enough fuel and was denied permission to land to refuel. The pilot brought the plane down a few hundred meters off a resort beach at Moroni in the Comoros Islands off Africa. The hijackers may have fought for control of the aircraft during descent, contributing to the crash during ditching. People on the beach were able to rescue 48 of the 175 aboard the plane. All the hijackers were believed killed.

Consequences: 127 killed, 48 injured

References:

• "Accident Database," PlaneCrashInfo.com, on line [http://www.planecrashinfo.com/database.htm].
• CNN, "Bizarre ordeal recounted in Ethiopian Airlines crash," 24 Nov. 1996, CNN World News, on line [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9611/24/ethiopia.hijack/].

© 2017 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 26 November 2017.
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