rescue, Somali commandos, who had established a perimeter around the plane, lit a fire 200 feet in front of it, which acted as a diversion, resulting in two of the three hijackers rushing to the cockpit, isolating them from the hostages in the cabin. At 0207, the GSG 9 commandos silently climbed up the blackened aluminium ladders and opened the emergency doors and stormed the aircraft. Shouting in German for the hostages to hit the floor, the commandos shot and killed two of the terrorists and wounded two more, one of whom died hours later. Four hostages and one commando received minor injuries.
Garuda Indonesia Flight 206: Palembang to Medan
Hijacked by a group called Komando Jihad on 28th March 1981. The hijackers ordered the pilot to fly them to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The plane landed in Penang, Malaysia, to refuel, then flew to Don Muang airport in Thailand. Royal Thai Air Force commandos and Indonesia's Kopassus commandos stormed the plane. The Kopassus commandos had trained for only three days with new weapons. One of the Kopassus commandos was shot, probably by his comrades, as was the pilot. The rest of the hostages were released unharmed. Two of the hijackers surrendered to the Thai commandos, but were killed by the Kopassus commandos on the plane taking them back to Indonesia.
Egyptair Flight 648: Athens to Cairo
Hijacked by the Abu Nidal Organisation on 23rd November 1985 and flown to Malta. On 25th November, after the hijackers had started executing passengers one by one, Egyptian commandos from the country’s Task Force 777 elite unit stormed the aircraft. As explosives were detonated in an attempt to blow a hole on the top of the airframe, the explosion ripped through the cabin, killing 20 passengers. Using the same hole, commandos gained entry to the plane but in the confusion opened fire indiscriminately and killed and injured more passengers. In the ensuing chaos, passengers that managed to flee the plane were shot by snipers in positions around the airport who mistook them
April 2012 Aviationsecurityinternational Credit: EINAR International Protection Agency
for terrorists attempting to escape. The total number of passengers killed was 58, out of a total of 90.
Singapore Airlines Flight 117: Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
Hijacked on 26th March 1991 by four Pakistanis claiming to be from the Pakistan People’s Party. The plane landed at Singapore Changi Airport, where the hijackers threatened to kill the hostages if their demands were not met. On 27th March, Singapore Armed Forces Commando Formation stormed the plane in a 30-second sweep, killing all four hijackers. None of the hostages were hurt. Singapore Armed Forces stated that the SWAT unit was an elite counter-terrorism and special reconnaissance unit, formed in the mid 1980s.
Air France Flight 8969: Algiers to Paris
Commandeered on the ground in Algiers by militants from the Algerian Islamist extremist Armed Islamic Group (GIA) on 24th December 1994. It is believed that the hijackers had the intention of crashing the plane into the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The flight landed in Marseille on 26th December for refuelling, and later that day, under the cover of darkness, France’s National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) launched an assault of the aircraft, killing all four hijackers after a 20 minute fire fight. The GIGN team practiced entering the A300 before the flight arrived in Marseille. Under the pretence of needing to service
the aircraft before it could take off for Paris, GIGN officers serviced the plane, disguised as regular airport personnel. They established that the aircraft doors were not blocked or booby trapped, and planted eavesdropping devices and microphones on the fuselage and windows. The SWAT commander organised a cavalry charge of three passenger boarding stairs and 30 officers to take over the aircraft; the forces planned to isolate the cockpit, where the lead hijacker was located. The GIGN's concussion grenades temporarily blinded and deafened the occupants, allowing the team to storm the aircraft. One of the hijackers’ homemade grenades detonated, causing minor damage. Snipers outside could not get
a
clear shot into the aircraft as the co-pilot was blocking the view; when he jumped out of the window, they began firing into the cockpit, while the GIGN evacuated passengers in the rear of the aircraft. The 166 remaining passengers (three had been killed in Algiers, and 63 released earlier) and crew survived the assault, with 16 receiving minor injuries. Nine of the 30 GIGN officers received injuries, one of them sustaining serious wounds.
Vnukovo Airlines: Istanbul to Moscow
Hijacked 15th March 2001 by Chechen rebels and diverted to Medina, Saudi Arabia. On 16th March, Saudi commandos stormed the plane. One passenger and one flight attendant were killed by the hijackers and one hijacker was killed by the commandos.
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