Air Afrique Flight 056
TU-TAL, the aircraft involved in the hijacking
Hijacking
Date24 July 1987 (1987-07-24)
SummaryHijacked and diverted; presumably by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
SiteGeneva Airport, Geneva, Switzerland
46°14′11″N 6°06′26″E / 46.23639°N 6.10722°E / 46.23639; 6.10722
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
Aircraft nameLibreville
OperatorAir Afrique
RegistrationTU-TAL
Flight originMaya-Maya Airport, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
1st stopoverBangui M'Poko International Airport, Bangui, Central African Republic
Last stopoverLeonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy
DestinationCharles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
Passengers143
Crew15
Fatalities1
Injuries30
Survivors157

On 24 July 1987, Air Afrique Flight 056, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 operating the Brazzaville–Bangui–Rome–Paris service was hijacked and diverted to Geneva Airport.[1] One passenger was killed and 30 people were injured.[2]

Background

The hijacker was 21-year-old Hussein Hariri, a Lebanese Shiite who claimed to be a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).[3] He carried a pistol and an explosives belt containing TNT. Flight 056 was operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 with registration TU-TAL.[4][5]

Hijacking

Hariri hijacked the flight after it departed Rome-Fiumicino International Airport and demanded the captain to fly the aircraft to Beirut International Airport in Lebanon. However, the captain, Eduard Artisu, responded that there was insufficient fuel for the aircraft to reach Beirut without a refueling stop and offered to land in Geneva, Switzerland, for refueling. Hariri accepted the offer.[6]

Raid

After the plane landed in Geneva at 8:08 AM, Hariri demanded the release of two of his brothers, who were prisoners in West Germany and threatened to kill passengers if his demands were not met. Two hours later, Hariri shot and killed a 28-year-old French passenger. Four hours after landing, passengers opened the emergency exits and began to evacuate the aircraft via the evacuation slides. One flight attendant attempted to overpower Hariri but was shot and injured. 29 people received injuries during the evacuation. The Swiss police then raided the aircraft. The operation lasted eight minutes, while the entire hijacking had lasted nearly four hours.[7]

Aftermath

Trial

Two years after the hijacking, Hussein Hariri was tried at the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in Lausanne for hijacking, murder, and attempted murder. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.[8]

In 2002, he escaped from prison and spent three months on the run. At the time, he had been allowed weekend furloughs from prison, in preparation for his release on parole in 2004.[9]

Hariri was released in 2004 and deported to Lebanon.[10]

Further history of the aircraft

The aircraft was damaged during the raid but was repaired and returned to service with Air Afrique. It was transferred to AOM French Airlines in 1996 and re-registered as F-GTDI. On 21 December 1999, while being leased to Cubana de Aviación, the aircraft crashed in Guatemala as Flight 1216, killing 16 of the 314 people on board and two more on the ground.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ "Hommage aux passagers qui ne voulaient pas venir à Genève : détournements d'avions (dès 1978)" [Tribute to passengers who did not want to come to Geneva: hijacking of planes (from 1978)]. www.pionnair-ge.com (in French). 2006-04-06. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  2. ↑ "Cauchemar sur le tarmac" [Nightmare on the tarmac]. www.airafrique.eu (in French). Air Afrique. 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  3. ↑ RTS.ch (2013-10-23). "Zone d'ombre - Cauchemar sur le tarmac" [Shadow Zone - Nightmare on the Tarmac]. rts.ch (in French). Radio Télévision Suisse. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  4. ↑ "F-GTDI AOM French Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  5. ↑ "AOM French Airlines F-GTDI (McDonnell Douglas DC-10 - MSN 46890) (Ex TU-TAL)". www.airfleets.net. Airfleets aviation. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  6. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 TU-TAL Genève-Cointrin Airport (GVA)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  7. ↑ "Un DC 10 d'Air Afrique détourné sur Cointrin" [Air Afrique DC 10 hijacked on Cointrin] (PDF). Le Nouvelliste (in French). 1987-07-25. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  8. ↑ "SOS Attentats – Association pour l'aide aux victimes des attentats" [SOS Attentats - Association for assistance to victims of attacks] (in French). Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  9. ↑ "Hijacker recaptured". The Vancouver Sun. 26 December 2002. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Lebanon hijacker released from prison and deported". The Courier-Journal. 18 October 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 F-GTDI Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  12. ↑ "Accident AOM French Airlines Flight 1216 F-GTDI". www.airfleets.net. Airfleets aviation. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
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