Timeline of airliner bombing attacks
Encyclopedia
Passenger airliners as well as cargo aircraft have been the subject of plots or attacked by bombs and fire since the near the start of air travel. Many early bombings were suicides or schemes for insurance money, but in the latter part of the 20th century, political and religious militant terrorism became the dominant motive for attacking large jets. One list describes 86 cases related to airliner bombings, 53 of them resulting in deaths.
organization which claims a motive to oppose enemies of Islam was not the first, but to this date is responsible for executing or inspiring the largest number. The unsolved 1976 bombing of a flight from Beirut occurred while a civil war was raging in that nation, while the North Korean-based bombers Korean Air flight of 1987 had at least an incidental connection to the middle east and Iraq where the bombers boarded the flight.
Religion / ethnic motives
Many attacks have been by Arabs or other Muslims targeting airlines of Arabs, Israel or Israeli allies. The islamist Al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
organization which claims a motive to oppose enemies of Islam was not the first, but to this date is responsible for executing or inspiring the largest number. The unsolved 1976 bombing of a flight from Beirut occurred while a civil war was raging in that nation, while the North Korean-based bombers Korean Air flight of 1987 had at least an incidental connection to the middle east and Iraq where the bombers boarded the flight.
Explosives
The full body scans and pat-downs introduced in 2010 in the US are designed to detect the explosive powder called PETN, which has been used in many al-Qaida bomb plots.List of incidents
- United Airlines Chesterton CrashUnited Airlines Chesterton CrashOn October 10, 1933, a Boeing 247 propliner operated by United Air Lines and registered as NC13304, crashed near Chesterton, Indiana. The transcontinental flight, carrying three crew and four passengers, had originated in Newark, New Jersey, with its final destination in Oakland, California...
1933 Boeing 247Boeing 247The Boeing Model 247 was an early United States airliner, considered the first such aircraft to fully incorporate advances such as all-metal semi-monocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing and retractable landing gear...
was destroyed by a bomb, with nitroglycerin as the probable explosive agent. A Chicago gangland murder was suspected, but the case remains unsolved. It is thought to be the first proven act of air sabotage in the history of commercial aviation. - United Airlines Flight 629United Airlines Flight 629United Airlines Flight 629, registration N37559, was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft, named "Mainliner Denver," which was blown up with a dynamite bomb placed in the checked luggage. The explosion occurred over Longmont, Colorado while the airplane was en route from Denver, Colorado to Portland, Oregon,...
In 1955, Jack Gilbert GrahamJack Gilbert GrahamJohn "Jack" Gilbert Graham was a mass murderer who killed 44 people by planting a dynamite bomb in his mother's suitcase that was subsequently loaded aboard United Airlines Flight 629.-Crime:...
packed a bomb containing dynamite in a suitcase carried by his mother. The explosion killed all 39 passengers and all 5 crew members. Graham was executed in 1957 for the pre-meditated murder of his mother, as there was no federal statute for the carrying out of an airplane bombing. - 1956 Greek Cypriot EOKA bombing campaign against British rule in Cyprus leads to destruction of aircraft. Violence continues until Cyprus is granted independence in 1960.
- National Airlines Flight 967National Airlines Flight 967National Airlines Flight 967, registration N4891C, was a Douglas DC-7B aircraft which disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico en route from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana on November 16, 1959...
In 1959 a bomb destroyed a Douglas DC-7B aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico. One theory is that a convicted criminal befriended and tricked another man into boarding with luggage containing a bomb so that his wife would be able to collect on his life insurance. Due to lack of evidence, the suspect was never charged in the alleged bombing, and no probable cause for the crash was found. - The Aden Airways DC3 registered VR-AAN was destroyed on 22nd November 1966 at 1220 HRS. Investigations revealed a bomb had been placed by 'Ali, the son of Amir Mohammed bin Said, Prime Minister of Wahidi (not in modern Yeman) who wanted to prematurely succeed him as Amir.
- Cyprus Airways Flight 284Cyprus Airways Flight 284Cyprus Airways Flight 284 was a de Havilland Comet that broke up during a flight to Nicosia International Airport on 12 October 1967, after an explosive device detonated in the cabin. The airliner crashed in the Mediterranean Sea and all 66 passengers and crew on board died.-Aircraft:The aircraft...
in 1967 a de Havilland Comet owned by British European Airways was flying between Athens, Greece and Nicosia, Cyprus when it suffered an explosion in the cabin, killing all 66 on board. It is the first in-flight bombing of a jet airliner. Cause is unsolved, but a recovered seat cushion showed traces of a military plastic explosive. Armed fighting between Greek and the minority Muslim Turkish communities had prompted the United Nations to send peacekeeping forces since 1964. It is believed the bomb was placed by terrorists hoping to kill the Greek general in command of the Cyprus army who was to be aboard but cancelled shortly before departure. - Swissair Flight 330Swissair Flight 330Swissair Flight SR330 was a regularly scheduled flight from Zürich International Airport in Kloten, Switzerland to Tel Aviv, Israel.On February 21, 1970, HB-ICD a Convair CV-990 Coronado jet named “Baselland” was flying on the route with 38 passengers and nine crew members...
On February 21, 1970, HB-ICD a Convair CV-990 CoronadoConvair 990The Convair 990 Coronado was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics, a "stretched" version of their earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines. The 990 was lengthened by 10 feet, which increased the number of passengers from...
jet named “Baselland” was flying on the route with 38 passengers and nine crew members. A bomb detonated in the aft cargo compartment of the aircraft All aboard the aircraft were killed. Sabotage was suspected because of sentencing of three Palestinians by a Swiss court. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General CommandPopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General CommandThe Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command is a Palestinian nationalist organization, backed by Syria and Iran...
, said in BeirutBeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, that it had been responsible for the explosion. ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
reported later, however, from AmmanAmmanAmman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, that a spokesman for the guerrilla group had denied that it was involved. A barometric triggered IEDImprovised explosive deviceAn improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
had been used. On the same day, a bomb exploded aboard a ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
-bound CaravelleSud Aviation CaravelleThe Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 . The Caravelle was one of the more successful European first generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States market, with...
after takeoff from FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. The Caravelle landed safely. - Oct. 6, 1976 Cubana Airlines plane exploded after takeoff from Barbados. 73 killed. Cuban exiles in Venezuela were convicted.
- Middle East Airlines Flight 438Middle East Airlines Flight 438Middle East Airlines Flight 438 a Boeing 720B, callsign CEDAR JET 438, was en route from Beirut to Dubai on 1 January 1976 when a bomb exploded in the forward cargo compartment. The aircraft broke up at an altitude of and crashed 37 km northwest of Al Qaysumah, Saudi Arabia.The bombers were...
In 1976, a bomb exploded a cargo bay of a Boeing 720B en route from Beirut, Lebanon to Dubai. The bombers were never identified. Lebanon was going through a civil war at the time. - On December 12, 1981, an AeronicaAeronicaAerolíneas Nicaragüenses, operating as Aeronica, was an airline from Nicaragua. Headquartered in the capital Managua, it operated scheduled passenger flights within Central America, as well as to Mexico and the United States out of its hub at the city's Augusto C...
Boeing 727 exploded while waiting at the Mexico City Airport. The bomb was timed to go off mid-air, but because of a 50 minute flight delate, it went off early, just before 150 passengers were about to board. - Pan Am Flight 830Pan Am Flight 830Pan Am Flight 830 was a Boeing 747-121, named "Clipper Ocean Rover", flying from Narita International Airport in Tokyo to Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii on August 11, 1982....
On August 11, 1982 Boeing 747 bomb placed under seat kills one 16 yr old Japanese boy injuring 15. The bomb was allegedly placed by Mohammed Rashed, linked to a palestinean terrorist organization. He was arrested in Greece, later convicted of murder and released in 1996, also convicted in 2006 by a United States court. Abu IbrahimAbu IbrahimAbu Ibrahim may refer to*Abu Ibrahim Faction, or 15 May Organization, a minor breakout faction from Wadie Haddad's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - External Operations*Abu Ibrahim , a member of the Nigerian Senate...
was also indicted but cannot be found. - Gulf Air Flight 771Gulf Air Flight 771Gulf Air Flight 771 was a flight from Karachi, Pakistan to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. On 23 September 1983, while the Boeing 737-2P6 was on approach to Abu Dhabi International Airport, a bomb exploded in the baggage compartment. The plane crashed in the desert near Mina Jebel Ali between Abu...
On 23 September 1983, on approach to Abu Dhabi International Airport, a bomb exploded in the baggage compartment. Most of the dead were Pakistani nationals. The bomb was apparently planted by the militant Palestinian Abu Nidal organization for protection money payments. - Air India Flight 182Air India Flight 182Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi route. On 23 June 1985, the airplane operating on the route a Boeing 747-237B named after Emperor Kanishka was blown up by a bomb at an altitude of , and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while in Irish airspace.A...
1985 transatlantic flight of first 747 destroyed by sabotage. Aircraft explodeded in-flight by dynamite placed in a stereo tuner with timers purchased by Sikh separatistsKhalistan movementKhalistan refers to a global political secessionist movement to create a separate Sikh state, called Khālistān , carved out of parts mostly consisting of the Punjab region of India, depending on definition....
. A similar second bomb intended for Air India Flight 301 exploded at the Tokyo airport killing two baggage handlerBaggage handlerIn the airline industry, a baggage handler is a person who loads and unloads baggage , and other cargo for transport via aircraft...
s and injuring four others. This is the first plot to target two planes at the same time. The initial suspect Talwinder Singh ParmarTalwinder Singh ParmarTalwinder Singh Parmar , born in village Panshta , district Kapurthala, Punjab, India, was a highranking member of the Sikh militant group Babbar Khalsa. He belonged to the Sikh Rajput community....
confessed that Lakhbir Singh Brar RodeLakhbir Singh Brar RodeLakhbir Singh Brar Rode is the nephew of Sikh leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and currently heads the banned International Sikh Youth Federation , which has branches in over a dozen countries in western Europe and Canada. Lakhbir is also affiliated with the Khalistan Zindabad Force...
, leader of the Sikh separatist organization International Sikh Youth FederationInternational Sikh Youth FederationThe International Sikh Youth Federation is banned under British, Indian, Canadian and American terrorism legislations.- Bannings :In February 2001, the United Kingdom banned twenty-one groups, including the ISYF, under a new terrorism law....
(ISYF) was the mastermind. There are allegations that the ISYF has been supported by PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's Inter-Services IntelligenceInter-Services IntelligenceThe Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
organization which has been linked to Islamic terrorism organizations. Later Lockerbie attack would also involve suitcases with explosives placed in electronic music components on a 747. Khalistan activists believe it was a false flagFalse flagFalse flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
attack by Indian government to discredit their movement. - TWA Flight 840 (1986)TWA Flight 840 (1986)Trans World Airlines Flight 840, registration N54340, was a Boeing 727-231 flying en route from Rome's Fiumicino Airport to Athens. A bomb was detonated on the aircraft while it was over Argos, Greece, ejecting four American passengers to their deaths below. Five others on the aircraft were...
April 2, 1986 on a Boeing 727-231 flying from Rome's Fiumicino Airport to Athens. A bomb detonated ejecting four American passengers (including a nine-month-old infant) to their deaths below, injuring five others. The "Arab Revolutionary Cells" claimed it was responding to "American arrogance" and clashes with Libya. The bomb contained one pound of plastic explosive, probably placed under the seat by a Lebanese woman (arrested, not convicted) who worked for the militant Palestinean Abu Nidal Organisation. - Korean Air Flight 858Korean Air Flight 858Korean Air Flight 858 was a scheduled international passenger flight between Baghdad, Iraq, and Seoul, South Korea that exploded in mid-air on 29 November 1987 after two North Korean agents planted a bomb in the passenger cabin...
, a flight brought down in November 1987 by liquid explosives concealed as liquor bottles by North Koreans who boarded the plane in Iraq. A similar pattern would be used by Ramzi Yousef in the Philippines in 1994 - Pan Am Flight 103Pan Am Flight 103Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...
/Lockerbie Boeing 747 killing 270 people in 1988 transatlantic flight destroyed in-flight by PETN explosives. Parts of suitcase containing the bomb were recovered with pieces of circuit board of a radio cassette player similar to one concealing a SemtexSemtexSemtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications. Semtex became notoriously popular with terrorists because it was, until recently, extremely difficult to detect, as in the case of Pan Am...
bomb seized by West German police from the Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestinePopular Front for the Liberation of PalestineThe Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
. Motive attributed to a number of Middle Eastern terrorist groups. Two Libyan intelligence operatives were committed in connection with the attack. Somewhat similarly to the 9/11 conspiracy theories9/11 conspiracy theories9/11 conspiracy theories are theories that disagree with the widely accepted account that the September 11 attacks were perpetrated solely by al-Qaeda. These theories arose because of what proponents of the conspiracy theories believe to be inconsistencies in the official conclusions or some...
, one theorist promoted his report that neither Flight 103 nor Air India 182 were attacked by terrorists but suffered a door failure. - On 19 September 1989, UTA Flight 772UTA Flight 772UTA Flight 772 of the French airline Union des Transports Aériens was a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, via N'Djamena in Chad, to Paris CDG airport in France....
was downed over NigerNigerNiger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
by a bomb, killing all 156 passengers and 15 crew members. After investigators obtained a confession from one of those who had loaded the bomb in BrazzavilleBrazzaville-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
, France indicted six Libyans, including Abdullah SenussiAbdullah SenussiAbdullah Senussi is a Libyan national who was the intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He was married to Gaddafi's sister-in-law....
, brother-in-law of Muammar al-GaddafiMuammar al-GaddafiMuammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, and deputy head of Libyan intelligence. Libya refused to extradite the six, who were condemned in absentia, but subsequently recognized its responsibility by compensating the families of the victims. The deemed motive of the bomber was revenge against the French for supporting ChadChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
against the expansionist projects of Libya toward Chad. - Avianca Flight 203Avianca Flight 203Avianca Airlines Flight 203 was a Colombian domestic passenger flight from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali. It was destroyed by a bomb over the municipality of Soacha on November 27, 1989....
, a Boeing 727 flying from Bogota to Cali was bombed in on 27 November 1989 killing 107 people plus a possible three on the ground. The bombing was planned by Pablo EscobarPablo EscobarPablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord. He was an elusive cocaine trafficker and rich and successful criminal. He owned numerous luxury residences, automobiles, and even airplanes...
of the Medellin drug cartel. The motive was an assassination attempt on presidential candidate César Gaviria Trujillo, but the target was not on the flight. - Philippine Airlines Flight 434Philippine Airlines Flight 434Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was the route designator of a flight from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Pasay City, the Philippines, to New Tokyo International Airport , Narita near Tokyo, Japan, with one stop at Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Cebu, the Philippines.On December 11, 1994...
1994 al-Queda test run for Operation Bojinka, in which a passenger was killed and 747 controls seriously damaged by a liquid explosive packed into contact lens solution bottles containing nitroglycerin. Bomb was assembled from parts in hand luggage by Ramzi YousefRamzi YousefRamzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
, who also built and detonated the WTC 1993 bomb. - Bojinka plot al-Queda plot to destroy several airliners over the Pacific Ocean in 1995 using liquid explosives. Elements of Oplan Bojinka inspired both the September 11 attack and the August 2006 plot to bomb transatlantic flights.
- TWA Flight 800TWA Flight 800Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...
Boeing 747-131 exploded and crashed on July 17, 1996 killing all 230 persons on board. After speculation of a terrorist attack, the FBI announced that no evidence had been found of a criminal act, and the NTSB conclusion was that the probable cause was fuel/air vapors in a fuel tank. - September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, al-Queda terrorist attacks with hijacked airliners on the United States in 2001, threatening passengers with on-board bombs. - American Airlines Flight 63/Shoe bomb, the target of a failed al-Qaeda PETN bombing attempt in December 2001.
- China Northern Flight 6136China Northern Flight 6136China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 was a flight from Beijing Capital International Airport to Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, a coastal city in Liaoning province of the People's Republic of China....
, a 2002 flight brought down by a passenger who had purchased life insurance, who set a fire in flight with gasoline - 2004 Russian aircraft bombings Islamist terrorist attacks on two domestic Russian passenger aircraft flying from Moscow. The bombs were triggered by two female Chechen suicide bombers. Shamil Salmanovich Basayev militant leader of the Chechen terrorist movement claimed credit.
- 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot2006 transatlantic aircraft plotThe 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada...
al-Queda terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada. It followed the same general plan as the Bojinka plot. - Northwest Airlines Flight 253Northwest Airlines Flight 253Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States...
, the target of a failed al-Qaeda PETN bombing attempt in December 2009 - 2010 cargo plane bomb plot, failed al-Qaeda PETN bombing attempt on two planes in October 2010