Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209
Hijacking | |
---|---|
Date | 23 December 2016 |
Summary | Hijacking |
Site | Malta International Airport, Luqa, Malta |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Airbus A320-214 |
Operator | Afriqiyah Airways |
IATA flight No. | 8U209 |
ICAO flight No. | AAW209 |
Call sign | Afriqiyah 209 |
Registration | 5A-ONB |
Flight origin | Sabha Airport, Libya |
Destination | Mitiga International Airport, Libya |
Occupants | 118 |
Passengers | 111 |
Crew | 7 |
Fatalities | 0 |
Survivors | 118 |
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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ "5A-ONB AFRIQIYAH AIRWAYS AIRBUS A320-200 | Planespotters.net". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Libya Malta hijack: First passengers released at airport". BBC News Online. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Libyan Afriqiyah Airways plane landed in Malta 'may be hijacked', says Maltese PM". The Independent. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Libyan plane hijack ends peacefully in Malta". Al Jazeera. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ "Hijackers release passengers after seizing Libyan Afriqiyah Airways flight". Sky News. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ Nsubuga, Jimmy. "Libyan plane hijackers were carrying fake guns and grenades". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ "Plane hijacker jailed 25 years, fined €10,000". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ Tamplin, Harley (23 December 2016). "Plane hijacking interrupts film crew shooting fake plane hijacking". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
External links
[edit]
- 2016 in Libya
- 2016 in Malta
- Aircraft hijackings
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 2016
- Accidents and incidents involving the Airbus A320
- Aviation accidents and incidents in Libya
- Aviation accidents and incidents in Malta
- Afriqiyah Airways accidents and incidents
- Luqa
- December 2016 crimes in Africa
- December 2016 crimes in Europe
- Libyan civil war (2014–2020)
- Hijackings in 2016