The airline is headquartered at Cairo International Airport, its main hub, operating scheduled passenger and freight services to more than 75 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.Egyptair is a member of Star Alliance. The handwritten letter, published in two of Kuwait’s Arabic language newspapers, “Al Qabas’ and ‘Al Watan’ said: “The organisation would like to inform the world that this action is aimed at no one except the regime of Hosni Mubarak and the presence of America and Zionists on Egyptian territory.”. Rezaq received a 25-year sentence, of which he served eight. The semi-official Egyptian press today condemned the hijackers and charged that another Arab country may have been behind the incident. He then shot three Americans – Patrick Scott Baker, Scarlett Marie Rogenkamp and Jackie Nink Pflug. However, Maltese authorities did not give permission for the aircraft to land (the Maltese government had previously refused permission to other hijacked aircraft, including on 23 September 1982 when an Alitalia aircraft was hijacked on its way to Italy). One of the hijackers was still alive, a Cairo newspaper reported. Rezaq, the chief hijacker, threatened to kill a passenger every 15 minutes until his demands were met. I do not know if I am right to consider it an Egyptian X-File or not but I noticed that no one in our media wants to remember the Egypt Air Flight 648! Egypt’s Revolution, Western officials say, may have connections with a web of fundamentalist groups that were behind the assassination of the late President Sadat in 1981. Dr Esmet Abdel Meguid, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, said on Sunday he doubted that such an organisation existed. EgyptAir Flight 648 was a regularly scheduled international flight between Athens Ellinikon International Airport in Greece and Cairo International Airport in Egypt. May 19, 2016 May 21, 2016 James Robertson Egypt, Israel, Plane operations, Terrorism, USA Abu Nidal group, Egypt Air Flight 648, EgyptAIr 990, Metrojey disaster. In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, retired agents Bob Clifford and Kevin Foust review their international terrorism investigation of the hijacking of Egypt Air Flight 648 … The car rental reservation is made between you and our partner Rentalcars.com and is separate to EGYPTAIR flight booking. The flight distance is 1,477 miles or 2,377 km. Share. with an average flight time of 2 hours and 40 minutes.. No proper team was set up at the outset to evaluate or deal progressively with the crisis, although only a few days previously an incident management course had been organized by a team of U.S. experts in Malta at the request of the government. In a cable to Egypt’s President Mubarak, who ordered the storming of the aircraft after a session with his inner cabinet in the early hours of a Sunday morning, Mr. Mehdi said the “lives of the hostages is always more important than the guilt of the hijackers.” The decision to attack “represented Israeli philosophy and was a disgrace to the Arabs.”. Latest updates as flight MS181 is hijacked between Alexandria and … Fields denoted with an asterisk (*) are required . The Egyptian Al-Sa’iqa (Thunderbolt) unit — Task Force 777, under the command of Major-General Kamal Attia — was flown in, led by four American officers. There was a mid-air gunfight between an Egyptian security guard and one of the hijackers, who was killed. Send. EgyptAir is a redirect to Egyptair. Qui c’è stato un massacro …” (“I’m speaking from Malta. All … The id is SU GCC.and the photograph was taken by Kevin Cleynhens in Zaventem Airport Brussels in January 2015. At this point, an Egyptian Security Service agent, Mustafa Kamal, aboard opened fire, killing one terrorist before being wounded along with two flight attendants. She was killed instantly. Malta had good relations with the Arab world, and 12 years earlier had successfully resolved a potentially more serious situation when a KLM Boeing 747 landed there under similar circumstances. Malta had … Here there’s just been a massacre …”) Shortly before this broadcast, a news bulletin on the Maltese national television had erroneously stated that all passengers had been released and were safe. In a battle between the Greek Cypriot National Guard and the commandos, 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed. Flight MS648 from Riyadh to Cairo is operated by Egyptair. We were traveling to Dubai by way of Cairo on EgyptAir Flight 648. On Sunday, Egypt declared a state of emergency on its common border with Libya. A Boeing 737-266 passenger plane, registered SU-AYH, was damaged beyond repair in a hijacking at Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA), Malta. “The kind of grenade they were using is lethal inside the confined space of a 737. (Incidentally the same aircraft was diverted by the US Navy in 1985 after the Achille Lauro hijacking.) Laurence Zrinzo, the neurologist and neurosurgeon who established neurosurgery as a sub-speciality in the Maltese islands, performed Ms Pflug’s neurosurgical procedure. EgyptAir hijacked plane: Suspected arrested after being branded an 'idiot' by Egyptian minister. Malta, in consultation with Egypt, refused to refuel the aircraft and as the crisis intensified throughout the day it became clear that military action was being planned. Decisions taken by the Maltese government drew criticism from overseas. After three months he was handed over to the U.S., brought before a U.S. court and, on 7 October 1996, sentenced to life imprisonment with a no-parole recommendation. On 23 November 1985, Flight 648 took off at 8pm on its Athens-to-Cairo route. In New York, Dr Mohammed Mehdi, president of the American-Arab committee, expressed “shock and horror” at Egypt’s “thoughtless decision” to attack the plane and the “clumsy execution” of that decision. The flight connects Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh (RUH / OERK) with Cairo International Airport, Cairo (CAI / HECA).. Both are militantly opposed to Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel and its close ties with the West. An Australian woman, Elizabeth Fisher, 22, of Warragul, is missing. The first to die was an Israeli woman “shot at point-blank range and thrown outside the plane.”, “After six hours on the ground there was some movement of military vehicles around the plane,” the pilot said. ; New to Wikipedia? The duration of the flight Egyptair MS 648 is 50 minutes. Sorry for the inconvenience. At that time I was sure he would not stop. ‘Al Gomhuria’ said that “no Egyptian could have been involved in such an act whatever his conflict with the national rule in Egypt.”, From the Archives, 1985: Massacre on hijacked EgyptAir flight 648. At first, Maltese authorities were optimistic they could solve the crisis. May 19, 2016 May 21, 2016 James Robertson Egypt, Israel, Plane operations, Terrorism, USA Abu Nidal group, Egypt Air Flight 648, EgyptAIr 990, Metrojey disaster. Share. Welcome! The hijacking is also the subject of the book Valinda, Our Daughter, written by Canadian author Gladys Taylor. The aircraft was running dangerously low on fuel, experiencing serious pressurization problems and carrying a number of wounded passengers. A U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules with an aeromedical evacuation team from Rhein-Main Air Base (2nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron) near Frankfurt, Germany, and rapid-deploying surgical teams from Wiesbaden Air Force Medical Center were on standby at the U.S. Navy Hospital at Naples. Japan Airlines Flight 123; … Scheduled time of departure from King Khaled Intl is 23:50 +03 and scheduled time of arrival in Cairo Intl is 23:40 EET. Captail Galil said the hijackers began killing hostages after the plane landed at Luqa airport in Malta. The events of the hijacking were related in an account by American survivor Jackie Nink Pflug, who had been shot in the head, on the Biography Channel television program I Survived…, which was broadcast on 13 April 2009. A Boeing 737-266 passenger plane, registered SU-AYH, was damaged beyond repair in a hijacking at Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA), Malta. I was quite desperate really to try and get out. Flight 648. EgyptAir Flight 648 was a Boeing 737-200 [2] airliner registered SU-AYH hijacked in 1985 by the terrorist Abu Nidal Organization.The subsequent raid on the aircraft by Egyptian troops led to dozens of deaths, making the hijacking of Flight 648 one of the deadliest such incidents in history. There was widespread fear that terrorists would hijack a Maltese plane or carry out a terror attack in Malta as an act of retribution. EgyptAir Flight 648 was a regularly scheduled international flight bound from Athens, Greece to Cairo, Egypt. In 1985, he was the lead negotiator in the hijacking of EgyptAir Flight 648 in which 60 of the 92 passengers were killed. The duration of the flight Egyptair MS 648 is 50 minutes. Soldiers dressed up as caterers would jam the door open and attack. First published in The Age on November 26, 1985, ‘They were just kneeling and praying for mercy and just sitting there waiting for execution.’. All 52 persons on board plus 19 people on the ground were killed. Malta Disasters / Facebook. Summary. Bonnici was under heavy pressure from both the hijackers and from the United States and Egypt, whose ambassadors were at the airport. EgyptAir Flight 648 Hijacking Incident, 1985 Please provide your name, email, and your suggestion so that we can begin assessing any terminology changes. It closed roads westwards, presumably clearing the way for troop movement towards the frontier. Flight 648. Egyptair Flight 648, carrying 92 passengers and 6 crew members, takes off from the Athens airport, bound for Cairo. EgyptAir Flight 648. This is a photograph of the specific jet that has disappeared. Flight to Oblivion: Anatomy of a Hijacking is a pulse-pounding 26 hours during a plane hijack considered “one of the world’s bloodiest and scariest plane hijackings.” The rescuers were responsible for all but a handful of the 60 deaths, including a Canadian mother and child. See Compl. The subsequent raid on the aircraft by Egyptian troops resulted in dozens of deaths, making the hijacking of Flight 648 one of the deadliest such incidents in history. Omar Rezaq was among them. Peter Kizilos is an award-winning author and communications consultant who lives in Minnesota. You have entered an incorrect email address! Plot. MS648 is a EgyptAir flight from Riyadh to Cairo. Mizzi also mentions how Maltese soldiers positioned in the vicinity of the aircraft were equipped with rifles but were not issued ammunition. From the Archives, 1985: Massacre on hijacked EgyptAir flight 648. The killing of 59 people in the storming of a hijacked EgyptAir Boeing in Malta by Egyptian commandos has been greeted with revulsion in world capitals. EgyptAir Flight 648 was a regularly scheduled international flight between Athens Ellinikon International Airport in Greece and Cairo International Airport in Egypt. Flight 3L* 428 is departing from Abu Dhabi International Airport, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (AUH) and arriving at Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt (CAI). There were 92 passengers and six crew members on board. We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. 56 of 88 passengers were killed on the … On November 23rd 1985, Egypt Air MS 648 was hijacked by a group of Black September terrorists and flown to Malta. Egyptair Flight 648, carrying 92 passengers and 6 crew members, takes off from the Athens airport, bound for Cairo. Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti newspaper today published a message purporting to be from the group responsible for the Malta hijacking (Egypt’s Revolution) saying its action was aimed at President Mubarak. The authorities took a firm stand in denying fuel to the hijackers but made no sensible provisions, through political bias and lack of experience, to meet the circumstances that arose from this decision. It also said it had wounded an Israeli official in the Egyptian capital in June 1984. After three Palestinian members … This is a photograph of the specific jet that has disappeared. He was making jokes immediately after killing.”, Mr. Lyons, the Australian in hospital in Valetta, said: “At the end there was a lot of shooting, bullets flying everywhere, you couldn’t breathe. Please try again later. In the exchange of fire the fuselage was punctured, causing a rapid depressurization. Western governments are expressing cautious approval, however, of Egypt’s decision to take military action against hijackers who had executed several passengers, including at least one woman, and were threatening to kill other hostages unless their demand for fuel was met. The aircraft was forced to descend to 14,000 feet (4,300 m) to allow the crew and passengers to breathe. The storming of the aircraft killed 54 of the remaining 87 passengers, as well as two crew members and one hijacker. The Egyptian commandos were given too free a hand and they acted out of their mission with little regard for the safety of the passengers. The Maltese Prime Minister, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, rushed to the airport’s control tower and assumed responsibility for the negotiations. The macabre ending to the hijacking came about 8:15 pm Malta time when an Egyptian anti-hijack squad blasted open a rear cargo door in an attempt to get at the hijackers. In a shoot-out, … A security agent exchanged gunfire with the hijackers, and in the process the fuselage was punctured and the cabin depressurized. EgyptAir Flight 648 is a regularly scheduled international flight between Athens (Ellinikon) Int’l Airport in Greece and Cairo International Airport in Egypt. The broadcast did not name the country but the allegation is probably levelled at Libya or Syria. Mrs. Pflug purchased a round-trip ticket in Athens for a flight from Cairo to Athens on Egyptair, the national airline of Egypt. This flight is not scheduled for Today, 05.Mar 2021.It was last scheduled for 02. After departing Athens for Cairo, three heavily armed terrorists forced the plane to land in Malta. Jackie Pflug was born in a suburb of Houston, Texas, with a chronic … They were determined to get the hijackers at all costs and the Maltese government’s initial refusal for U.S. anti-terrorist resources (a team led by a major-general with listening devices and other equipment) offered by the State Department through the U.S. Embassy in Malta – a decision reversed too late – contributed in no small measure to the mismanagement of the entire operation. An Italian secret service report on the incident showed how the fire inside the aircraft was caused by the Egyptian commandos who placed explosives in the aircraft cargo hold – the most vulnerable part of the aircraft, as it held the oxygen tanks which blew up. Since we had only hand luggage, we were able to enter the plane relatively early. His next victim was Nitzan Mendelson, another Israeli woman. Malta Disasters / Facebook. I managed to stumble my way up the aisle over people and fall out of the door.”. An Egyptian Hercules transport arrived at Luqa airbase during the afternoon. Save. “I was prepared to do anything at that point to stop the killing… get them fuel and fly them wherever they wanted as long as the killing stopped. Without warning, around an hour and a half before the planned time of the raid, Egyptian commandos attacked the passenger doors and luggage compartment doors with explosives. The EgyptAir pilot said there were four or five hijackers, most of who were Palestinians. The case of EgyptAir Flight 648 will always provide a blueprint on how not to deal with terrorists. Just 10 minutes after take-off, three Palestinian members of Abu Nidal hijacked the plane. 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