Gulf Air Flight 771

Gulf Air Flight 771

Occurrence summary
Date	September 23, 1983
Type	Terrorist bombing
Site	Mina Jebel Ali
Passengers	105
Crew	7
Injuries	0
Fatalities	112 (all)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-200
Operator	Gulf Air
Tail number	A40-BK
Flight origin	Karachi, Pakistan
Destination	Abu Dhabi International Airport

Gulf 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 Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE. All seven crew members and 105 passengers died. Most of the dead were Pakistani nationals, many returning to jobs in the Persian Gulf after spending the Eid al Adha holiday with their families in Pakistan.

The bomb was apparently planted by the Abu Nidal organization, to convince Saudi Arabia to pay protection money to Nidal so as to avoid attacks on their soil. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates paid the money soon after the bombing.

External links

• Criminal Occurrence description at the Aviation Safety Network
• Page from planecrashinfo.com
• Abu Nidal behind 1983 Gulf Air bombing: Aide