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TWA Flight 840 bombing

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For the earlier hijacking of TWA Flight 840, see TWA Flight 840 hijacking.
TWA Flight 840
A Boeing 727-231 of TWA, similar to the aircraft involved in the incident
Bombing
DateApril 2, 1986
SummaryBombing
SiteArgos, Greece
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 727-231
OperatorTrans World Airlines
RegistrationN54340[1]
Flight originLos Angeles International Airport
1st stopoverJohn F. Kennedy International Airport
2nd stopoverLeonardo da Vinci Int'l Airport
3rd stopoverAthens (Ellinikon) Int'l Airport
DestinationCairo International Airport
Passengers115[2]
Crew7[2]
Fatalities4
Injuries7[3]
Survivors118[2]

Trans World Airlines Flight 840 was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles to Cairo via New York City, Rome, and Athens on April 2, 1986. About 20 minutes before landing in Athens, a bomb was detonated on the aircraft while it was over Argos, Greece, blasting a hole in the plane's starboard side. Four passengers were killed after being sucked out, while another 7 were injured by flying shrapnel and debris. The aircraft then made a successful emergency landing with no further loss of life.[4]

Aircraft

The Boeing 727-231 involved in the incident was delivered to TWA in 1974, with the registration N54340.[5][6] It was fitted with 3 P&W WJT8D-5 turbofan engines.[5]

Flight

The flight originated in Los Angeles on a Boeing 747 and transferred to a Boeing 727 in Rome for the remainder of the flight.[7] After taking off from Rome, Italy, the flight remained uneventful until around 20 minutes before landing at Athens, when the aircraft was at around 11,000 ft.[8] A bomb hidden underneath seat 10F during an earlier leg of the flight detonated, blasting a hole in the starboard side of the fuselage in front of the wing.[7]

Four American passengers, including an eight-month-old infant, were ejected through the hole to their deaths below. The victims were identified as a Colombian-American man; and a woman, her daughter, and her infant granddaughter.[7] Seven others on the aircraft were injured by shrapnel as the cabin suffered a rapid decompression. However, as the aircraft was in the middle of its approach to Athens, the explosion wasn't as catastrophic as it would have been at a higher altitude.[7] The remaining 110 passengers survived the incident as pilot Richard "Pete" Petersen made an emergency landing.[7]

Aftermath

The bodies of three of the four victims were later recovered from an unused Greek Air Force landing strip near Argos; the fourth was found in the sea.[7]

A group calling itself the Arab Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility, saying it was committed in retaliation for American imperialism and clashes with Libya in the Gulf of Sidra the week before.[9]

The aircraft was substantially damaged but was repaired and returned to service.[10]

Investigation

Investigators concluded that the bomb contained one pound of plastic explosive. As the bomb was placed on by the floor of the cabin, the explosion tore a hole downward, where the fuselage absorbed the most damage. It is suspected it had been placed beneath the seat on a previous journey by a Lebanese woman (later arrested, never convicted) who worked for the Abu Nidal Organisation, which was dedicated to the destruction of the state of Israel.[11] They had previously hijacked and bombed several other aircraft, as well as committing various terrorist attacks in parts of the Middle East.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "FAA Registry (N54340)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  2. ^ a b c Smith, William E.; Borrell, John; Gondicas, Mirka (1986-04-14). "Terrorism Explosion on Flight 840". Time. Retrieved 1 September 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "On This Day - 1986: Bomb tears hole in airliner over Greece". BBC News. BBC. 1986-04-02. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  4. ^ "TWA Pilot's Wife Says Her Husband is a Hero With PM-Plane-Bomb Bjt". AP News. Associated Press. 3 April 1986.
  5. ^ a b "Aircraft N54340 Data". Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  6. ^ "FAA Registry". Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Suro, Roberto (1986-04-03). "4 killed as bomb rips T.W.A plane on way to Athens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  8. ^ "TWA bombing survivor and author tells stories of second chances". 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Bomb Blast On Airliner Kills 4 Jet Lands Safely In Greece". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-03-09.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-231 N54340 Argos". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  11. ^ "Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)". mackenzieinstitute.com. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) attacked Airports & Airlines target (Apr. 2, 1986, Italy)". MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. April 3, 2001. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2012.

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