El Al Flight 426 hijacking

El Al Flight 426
Hijacking summary
El Al 707 on the runway
Date	July 23, 1968
Summary	Hijacking
Passengers	51 (Including 3 hijackers)
Crew	10
Fatalities	0
Survivors	61 (Including 3 hijackers)
Aircraft type	Boeing 707
Operator	El Al
Flight origin	London Heathrow Airport
Stopover	Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport
Destination	Lod Airport (renamed Ben Gurion International Airport)

Palestinian insurgency
in South Lebanon

Engagements

International incidents

El Al Flight 426 was an El Al passenger flight hijacked on July 23, 1968 by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), setting off a wave of hijackings by the PFLP.^[1]

History

The aircraft, a Boeing 707, was en route from London Heathrow Airport to Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport and then to Lod Airport, now known as Ben Gurion International Airport. The plane was diverted to Algiers.^[2]^[3]

One of the hijackers opened the unlocked door to the flight deck, clubbed the copilot with the butt of his pistol and ordered the plane to fly to Algiers. The other two hijackers threatened the passengers with pistols and hand grenades.

When the plane landed at Dar El Beida, Algerian authorities impounded the plane. The following day they sent all non-Israeli passengers to France on Air Algérie Caravelle jets. Twelve Israeli passengers and the crew of ten were held as hostages. Ten women and children were released over the weekend. The hijackers were identified as members of the Jordan-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. They were equipped with Iranian and Indian passports. Each of the hijackers were carefully chosen by the PFLP because of their occupations (a pilot, a Colonel in the Palestinian army and a Karate teacher).

The Israeli and Algerian governments negotiated the return of the hostages and plane through diplomatic channels. Five weeks later, everyone was released in exchange for 16 convicted Arab prisoners.^[1] According to the BBC, lasting 40 days, it was the longest hijacking of a commercial flight.^[4]

References

1 2 "Drama of the Desert: The Week of the Hostages". Time.com. 1970-09-21. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
↑ "Skyway Robbery". Time.com. 1968-08-02. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
↑ Emergency Management Net Hijack list Archived July 26, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "History of airliner hijackings". BBC. 3 October 2001. Retrieved 8 December 2015.

← 1967
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1968 (1968)
1969 →

Jan 21 Thule Air Base B-52 crash
Mar 6 Air France Flight 212
Mar 24 Aer Lingus Flight 712
Apr 8 BOAC Flight 712
Apr 20 South African Airways Flight 228
May 3 Braniff Flight 352
May 12 Kham Duc C-130 shootdown
May 22 Los Angeles Airways Flight 841
Jul 1 Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A
Jul 3 BKS Air Transport Heathrow crash
Jul 23 El Al Flight 426 hijacking
Aug 14 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417
Sep 11 Air France Flight 1611
Oct 25 Northeast Airlines Flight 946
Nov 22 Japan Airlines Flight 2
Nov 24 Pan Am Flight 281
Dec 2 Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55
Dec 12 Pan Am Flight 217
Dec 24 Allegheny Airlines Flight 736
Dec 27 North Central Airlines Flight 458
Dec 31 MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750

Prominent terrorist attacks against Israelis in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict – the 1960s

1968	El Al Flight 426 hijacking (July 23) El Al Flight 253 attack (December 26)

1969	El Al Flight 432 attack (February 18) TWA Flight 840 hijacking (August 29)

Attacks launched from Lebanon List of attacks against Israeli civilians before 1967 1950s 1970s

Prominent Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1960s

Aircraft hijackings	El Al Flight 426 hijacking (July 23, 1968) El Al Flight 253 attack (December 26, 1968) El Al Flight 432 attack (February 18, 1969) TWA Flight 840 hijacking (August 29, 1969)

1950s 1970s

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El Al Flight 426 hijacking

History

See also

References