Malaysia Airlines Flight 653
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 4, 1977 |
| Type | Hijack |
| Site | Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia |
| Fatalities | 100 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-2H6 |
| Operator | Malaysia Airlines |
| Tail number | 9M-MBD |
| Passengers | 93 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 (MH653), a Boeing 737-2H6 registered as 9M-MBD (delivered in September 1972 as 9M-AQO), was a flight which crashed at Tanjung Kupang, Johor, in Malaysia on the evening of December 4, 1977. It was the first fatal accident for Malaysia Airlines, with all 93 passengers and 7 crew killed instantly. The flight was apparently hijacked as soon as it reached cruise level; the circumstances in which this and the subsequent crash occurred remain unsolved.
[edit] Sequence of events
Flight MH653 departed from Penang's Runway 22 at exactly 1921 hrs for Kuala Lumpur's Subang Airport (now known as the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport). Onboard were 7 crew and 93 passengers, including the Malaysian Agricultural Minister, Dato' Ali Haji Ahmad, Public Works Department Head, Dato' Khalid Mahfuz, and Cuban Ambassador to Japan, Mario Garcia. In charge of the flight was Captain G.K. Ganjoor.
At approximately 1954 hrs, while at a height of 4,000 feet over Batu Arang descending towards Subang's Runway 33, captain G.K. Ganjoor reported to Subang Tower of an "unidentified hijacker" onboard. The tower immediately notified the authorities, who made emergency preparations at the airport.
A few minutes later, however, Captain Ganjoor radioed:"We're now proceeding to Singapore...". The plane never touched down at Singapore.
At 2015 hrs, all communications with flight MH653 were lost.
At 2036 hrs, the residents of Kampong Ladang, Tanjong Kupang in Johor reported hearing explosions and seeing burning wreckage in a swamp. The wreckage was later identified as Flight MH653. No one on board survived, and not one recognizable body was found. The plane had hit the ground almost vertically at a very high speed.
[edit] Aftermath
The cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft was recovered, and the following was established:
After seizing control, at a point shortly before the crash, the offender locked himself in the cockpit with the two pilots. From the conversation, it appeared that all tension was gone, and the hijacker was talking amiably to the pilots. Suddenly, two gunshots occur in rapid succession, followed a short time later by a third and final shot.
At this stage, the aircraft was on autopilot and flyable. Noises suggestive of the cockpit door being broken in are heard, along with a reasonable amount of screaming and cursing. No noises are heard from within the cockpit to indicate any of the three occupants were conscious.
The autopilot disconnects, possibly due to a pitch input by someone entering the cockpit and trying to control the aircraft without knowing how to do it properly. An investigator speculated that someone pulled back on the column, causing a pitch up, and that they were doing it in such a fashion that positive feedback occurred, e.g. reaching over a pilot unsupported and falling back as the plane pitched up, i.e. a pilot-induced oscillation. This rapidly developed into a high amplitude phugoid oscillation that resulted in a dive into the swamp.
The hijacker spoke with a Japanese accent, and it was speculated that the Japanese Red Army was responsible for the hijacking and subsequent murder of the pilots.
All recovered remains were x-rayed in an attempt to discover evidence of a projectile or weapon. No weapon or bullet was ever found. Remains were buried in a common grave at the border of the various common religions in Malaysia.
The memorial site is situated at Jalan Kebun Teh, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It is known as Tanjung Kupang Memorial.
[edit] Notable fictions
- The compulsory novel of form 2 secondary school called Tragedi Empat Disember is written by Dzul Karnain Ithnin. The story is about a situation of plane crash in Tanjung Kupang, with notably obvious reference to the real tragedy.
