Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708 Explained

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708
Occurrence Type:Incident
Type:Attempted hijacking
Site:Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Aircraft Type:Boeing 720-060B
Operator:Ethiopian Airlines
Origin:Haile Selassie I International Airport
Stopover0:Asmara International Airport
Stopover1:Ellinikon International Airport
Stopover2:Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport
Destination:Charles de Gaulle Airport
Fatalities:7 hijackers
Survivors:87

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708 was a Boeing 720-060B, due to operate an international scheduled Addis AbabaAsmaraAthensRomeParis passenger service, that experienced a hijacking attempt on 8 December 1972.

Summary

Minutes after departing from Haile Selassie I International Airport bound for Paris, when the aircraft was flying at some, seven members of the Eritrean Liberation Front stood up and tried to gain control of the plane. Onboard security guards opened fire on the hijackers, killing six. During the firefight a hand grenade that was armed by one of the hijackers was rolled down the aisle by a passenger. The grenade exploded in the rear part of the fuselage, some off the plane's centreline, blowing a hole in the cabin floor and damaging or severing several controls of the aircraft, including those of throttle of two engines, of the rudder, and of the horizontal stabiliser. Despite this, the crew turned back the airplane to the airport of origin and managed to land it safely; it sustained minor damages that were repaired later. The seventh hijacker died in hospital of their injuries

See also