Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114
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Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 was a regularly-scheduled flight from Tripoli to Cairo. On 10:30 on February 21, 1973, it left Tripoli, but lost its course over northern Egypt by 13:44. Lost, it entered Israeli airspace of Sinai at 13:54. Sinai, an Egyptian Territory, had been occupied by Israel following the six-day war in 1967. After failed attempts at communication by Israeli F-4s, the plane was shot down at 14:08, resulting in the loss of 108 out of 113 people on board.
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[edit] Account
The plane, a Boeing 727-224, was being piloted by a French crew (captain and flight engineer; the co-pilot was Libyan) under a contractual arrangement between Air France and the Libyan national airline, Libyan Arab Airlines. After a brief stop at Benghazi in eastern Libya, Flight 114 continued en route to Cairo with 113 people on board.
As the airliner flew over northern Egypt on its approach to Cairo, it suddenly encountered a blinding sandstorm which forced the crew to switch to instrument control because the geographic features which ordinarily served as landmarks could not be discerned in the swirling tempest. A short time later, around 13:44, the pilot began to suspect that he had made a navigational error because of a compass malfunction: he could not find an air traffic beacon, and could not ascertain the plane's current location. He did not report his worries to the Cairo air control tower. Instead, at 13:52 he received permission from Cairo to begin his descent. In fact, by now the plane, pushed by strong tailwinds, had drifted east considerably, and was flying over the Suez canal.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were on high alert at the time, because it was occupying Egyptian territory. Israel was is a state of war with Egypt at the time, and thought it suspicious that no Egyptian missiles had been fired at the plane, nor MiGs scrambled to intercept it, despite a similar incident a month earlier, in which an Ethiopian plane had been shot down.
At 13:54, the aircraft penetrated into the Israeli war zone over the Sinai desert, cruising at 20,000 feet. Two minutes later, two F-4 Phantom fighters were scrambled to investigate, and they intercepted the plane at 13:59. They did not see any passengers because all the window shades were down. The Israeli fighter pilots made eye contact with the airliner's crew, and proceeded to radio them and signal them (by rocking their wings) that they should follow them back to Refidim air base. The airliner crew did not respond, although hand gestures seemed to indicate they understood the instructions. At the same time, between 13:59 and 14:02, the crew contacted Cairo airport and reported their inability to pick up the airport beacon. Cairo airport believed them to be close, and directed them to continue descending to 4,000 feet.
[edit] Israeli perspective
At 14:01, the F-4s fired tracer shells in front of the airliner's nose, and the plane then changed course and started to descend toward Refidim air base, lowering its landing gear as it reached 5,000 feet altitude. Suddenly, it turned back toward the west and increased altitude. The Israelis thought it was circling for a second landing attempt, but the airliner then headed straight west, as if trying to escape. More warning shots were fired.
By now, the Israelis have reached the conclusion that the plane was indeed on a terrorist mission, and they decided it must not escape; the fighters are instructed to force it to land. At 14:08, the F-4s fired at the Boeing's wing tips. It continued flying west, and the F-4s then fired at the wing roots. The Boeing then attempted a crash landing, but unfortunately hit a sand dune, killing 108 of the 113 passengers and crew. They were within a minute's flying time of Egyptian territory, near Isma'iliya.
[edit] Airliner perspective
When the F-4s showed up, the Libyan copilot identified them incorrectly as Egyptian MiGs. When the fighters signaled the airliner, the captain and flight engineer gesticulated angrily about the rudeness of their (supposedly Egyptian) pilots. There are two airfields around Cairo: Cairo East and Cairo West. Cairo East is the international airport, whilst Cairo West is a military air base. The crew thought they have overshot Cairo West and are approaching Cairo East, and interpreted the presence of the (presumed Egyptian) fighters as an escort back to Cairo West.
They began descending towards Refidim, soon realising it was a military air base. They decided it would be a mistake to land there, and started heading back for Cairo West. Shortly after they were fired upon but could not comprehend why, only realising the fighter jets were Israeli shortly before crashing, however the black box recording does not reveal how they incorporated this new fact into their understanding of the situation.
[edit] Aftermath
At first, Israel denied involvement in the accident. However, after February 24, when the Boeing's black box which had recorded the crew's conversations with the Cairo control tower was recovered, the Israelis at last admitted involvement. The Israeli government at that time revealed that LN 114 had been shot down with the personal authorization of David Elazar, the Israeli Chief of Staff. Israel's argument was that given the heightened security situation and the erratic behavior of the jet's crew, the actions taken were appropriate and consistent with Israel's right to self-defense.
The United Nations, citing the right of sovereign nations to self-defense under international law, chose not to take any action against Israel. The 30 member nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) voted to censure Israel for the attack, but the U.S. abstained.
