American Airlines Flight 444

American Airlines Flight 444

An American Airlines Boeing 727-223 identical to the one involved in the incident.
Occurrence
Date	November 15, 1979
Summary	Bombing (attempted)
Site	near Washington Dulles International Airport 38.953°N 77.450°W / 38.953; -77.450
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-223
Operator	American Airlines
Registration	Unknown
Flight origin	Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Destination	Washington National Airport
Occupants	78
Passengers	72
Crew	6
Fatalities	0
Injuries	12
Survivors	78 (all)

American Airlines Flight 444 was a scheduled American Airlines flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C.'s National Airport. On November 15, 1979, the Boeing 727 serving the flight was attacked by "the Unabomber", Ted Kaczynski, who placed a bomb on board. The bomb, planted in the cargo hold, caused "a sucking explosion and a loss of pressure," which was then followed by large quantities of smoke filling the passenger cabin, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport. Twelve passengers had to be treated afterward for smoke inhalation. It was later determined that the bomb was powerful enough to have destroyed the aircraft if it had worked correctly.

This was not the first Unabomber attack, but it led to the FBI investigation into the Unabomber as airliner bombing is a federal crime.

External links

• Non-hull loss description at the Aviation Safety Network