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Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209

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Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209
The aircraft involved in the incident, photographed in 2019
Hijacking
Date23 December 2016 (2016-12-23)
SummaryHijacking
SiteMalta International Airport, Luqa, Malta
Aircraft
Aircraft typeAirbus A320-214
OperatorAfriqiyah Airways
IATA flight No.8U209
ICAO flight No.AAW209
Call signAfriqiyah 209
Registration5A-ONB
Flight originSabha Airport, Libya
DestinationMitiga International Airport, Libya
Occupants118
Passengers111
Crew7
Fatalities0
Survivors118

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209 was a domestic passenger flight from Sabha to Tripoli, Libya that was hijacked on 23 December 2016 and made a forced landing in Luqa, Malta. The flight was operated by Afriqiyah Airways, Libya's state airline, and carried 111 passengers: 82 males, 28 females and one infant.[1] The two hijackers later released all of the hostages and surrendered to the authorities.[2]

Aircraft

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The aircraft involved was an Airbus A320-214, registration 5A-ONB, msn 3236. It had first flown on 29 August 2007 and was delivered to Afriqiyah Airways on September. The aircraft was equipped with two CFM International CFM56 engines.[3][4]

Hijacking

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The aircraft, carrying seven crew and 111 passengers,[3] had taken off from Sabha International Airport at 08:10 local time and was due to land at Tripoli at 09:20.[5] The two hijackers threatened to blow up the aircraft with hand grenades, according to Malta state television.[2] One hijacker declared himself to be "pro-Gaddafi" and that he would release all passengers, but not the crew, if his unknown demands were accepted.[2] The pilots had tried to land in Libya, but the hijackers refused their request.[2] The aircraft was forced to land at Malta International Airport at 11:32 am local time.[1] The aircraft's engines were still running after it was surrounded by the Maltese military.[6] One hijacker was reported to have appeared at the aircraft door waving a large green flag similar to the Libyan flag under Gaddafi.[7] He then put the flag down and returned inside.[7]

Response

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Negotiating teams were placed on standby and Maltese military units arrived at the airport.[2] Upon landing, at least 25 passengers had been released by the two hijackers, and negotiations were held.[6] Following the release of all passengers and crew, the hijackers, Suhah Mussa and Ahmed Ali, surrendered to the Maltese authorities and were taken into custody.[8] The weapons they had brandished were later found to be replicas.[9]

Aftermath

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On 2 December 2020, Suhah Mussa was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment and fined €9,990 after he pleaded guilty to the charges against him.[10]

Film

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On the day of the hijacking, the Malta airport was being used to film scenes for the movie Entebbe about the 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139 and the Israeli-conducted Operation Entebbe in Uganda, which had resulted in the release of most of the passengers and the deaths of the hostage-takers. Scenes of the real-life hostages exiting the Afriqiyah plane were filmed, edited and inserted in the movie, and producer Melvin Rotherberg qualified the event as a "blessing from the sky on a day of bad acting." Some of the passengers were subsequently cast as extras in the movie.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Developing story: Hijacked Libyan plane lands in Malta; hijackers threaten to blow up aircraft". Times of Malta. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Libyan plane hijack: Two hijackers 'with grenades threaten to blow up' Afriqiyah Airways flight in Malta". The Daily Telegraph. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  4. ^ "5A-ONB AFRIQIYAH AIRWAYS AIRBUS A320-200 | Planespotters.net". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Libya Malta hijack: First passengers released at airport". BBC News Online. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Libyan Afriqiyah Airways plane landed in Malta 'may be hijacked', says Maltese PM". The Independent. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Libyan plane hijack ends peacefully in Malta". Al Jazeera. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Hijackers release passengers after seizing Libyan Afriqiyah Airways flight". Sky News. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  9. ^ Nsubuga, Jimmy. "Libyan plane hijackers were carrying fake guns and grenades". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Plane hijacker jailed 25 years, fined €10,000". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  11. ^ Tamplin, Harley (23 December 2016). "Plane hijacking interrupts film crew shooting fake plane hijacking". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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