Leul Abate
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Leul Abate was the pilot of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, which was hijacked on November 23, 1996 en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, by three Ethiopians seeking political asylum. The plane crashed in the Indian Ocean near Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 123 of the 175 passengers and crew on board.
The plane was nearly out of fuel as it approached the island group, but the hijackers continued to ignore the captain's warnings. Out of options, Abate began to circle the area, hoping to land the plane on the island group's main airport. When the plane ran out of fuel, both engines failed. The crew used a ram air turbine to preserve the aircraft's most essential functions, but in this mode some hydraulic systems—such as the flaps—were inoperative. This forced the pilot to land at more than 175 knots (about 200 miles per hour or 320 kilometers per hour).
Abate tried to make an emergency landing on the airport at Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport, Grand Comoro, but a fight with the hijackers at the last minute caused him to lose his visual point of reference, leaving him unable to locate the airport. While still fighting with the hijackers, he then tried to ditch the aircraft in shallow waters 500 metres off Le Galawa Beach Hotel near Mitsamiouli at the northern end of Grand Comoro island. The left engine and wingtip struck the water first, causing the aircraft to break up. Island residents and tourists, including a group of scuba divers and some French doctors on vacation, came to the aid of crash survivors.
123 of the 175 passengers and crew members were killed, as well as all three hijackers.
Both pilots survived the crash and Abate continued to fly for Ethopian airlines.
