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Gulf Air Flight 771

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Gulf Air Flight 771
A4O-BK, the aircraft involved in the bombing
Bombing
Date23 September 1983 (1983-09-23)
SummaryTerrorist bombing
SiteJebel Ali (near Abu Dhabi International Airport), United Arab Emirates
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-2P6
OperatorGulf Air
IATA flight No.GF771
ICAO flight No.GFA771
Call signGULF AIR 771
RegistrationA4O-BK
Flight originJinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan
1st stopoverAbu Dhabi International Airport, United Arab Emirates
Last stopoverDoha, Qatar
DestinationBahrain
Occupants112
Passengers105
Crew7
Fatalities112
Survivors0

Gulf Air Flight 771 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan, to Abu Dhabi International Airport, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. On 23 September 1983, while the Boeing 737-2P6[1] was on approach, a bomb, planted by the Palestinian nationalist militant group, Abu Nidal Organization, exploded in the baggage compartment, resulting in a fire. The aircraft crashed in the desert near Jebel Ali between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. All 105 passengers and 7 crew members died. To date, it is the deadliest air disaster in the history of the United Arab Emirates, along with Sterling Airways Flight 296 which also killed 112 in 1972.[2]

Background

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Aircraft

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The aircraft involved, manufactured by Boeing in 1979, was a Boeing 737-2P6 registered as A4O-BK with serial number 21734 and line number 566. It was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15 engines.[2][3]

Crew and passengers

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The flight's cockpit crew consisted of the following:[citation needed]

  • Omani Captain Saud al-Kindi
  • Bahraini First Officer Khazal al-Qadi

The cabin crew were of mixed nationalities, ranging from Filipino, Indian, Pakistani, and American; the sole Bahraini member, Hashim Sayed Abdullah, acted as a deputy purser and worked in the economy class cabin.[4] Two of the crew were from the United Kingdom; one of them, Sally Anne Townsend, was a native of Peterborough, serving as chief purser on the flight.[citation needed]

There were 96 Pakistani nationals, many returning to jobs in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain after spending the Eid al Adha holiday with their families in Pakistan. There were also seven passengers from the United Kingdom, one from the United States, and one from Iran.[5][6][7]

Nationality Passengers Crew Total
Bahrain 0 2 2
India 0 1 1
Iran 1 0 1
Oman 0 1 1
Pakistan 96 1 97
Philippines 0 1 1
United Kingdom 7 0 7
United States 1 1 2
Total (8 Nationalities) 105 7 112

Bombing

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On 23 September 1983, while on approach to Abu Dhabi, the aircraft experienced an explosive detonation in the baggage compartment.[8] The aircraft did not break up mid-air, but a fire broke out immediately afterwards and the passengers are believed to have been killed instantly by asphyxiation.[4] As a result, the aircraft crashed into the desert near Jebel Ali, about 45 kilometers northeast of Abu Dhabi. All 112 people on board, including 7 crew members and 105 passengers, were killed in the bombing.[6]

Investigation

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An investigation was launched by the American National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). They released a 400-page report on their findings, which was not immediately published in the Persian Gulf region. The report was revealed in September 1987 by British politician Sir Dudley Smith, under pressure from the parents of Lyn Farthing, one of the two British flight attendants who perished in the crash.[citation needed]

The report included a description of the last moments in the cockpit, including a description of Omani Captain Saoud Al Kindy praying as the plane nose-dived into the desert.[4] The report mentioned that everything on board the flight was perfectly normal and voice transcripts showed the crew chatting among themselves. One asked the other if he was on duty the next day, to which he replied "No, I've got a day off tomorrow". That was followed by a sudden interruption and the recording showed the pilots making a frantic attempt to control the plane.[4]

The report indicated a bomb in the baggage hold as the primary cause of the accident, due to the following factors:[4]

  • A passenger who checked in baggage at Karachi but never boarded the plane.
  • The nature of injuries to passengers who were seated above the baggage hold.
  • A sudden interruption to an otherwise normally operating flight.
  • Data obtained from the aircraft's flight data recorder.

Aftermath

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The bomb was planted by the Abu Nidal Organization (named after Abu Nidal himself), to convince Saudi Arabia to pay protection money to Nidal so as to avoid attacks on their soil.[9][10]

As of May 2025, Gulf Air still uses the flight number 771, operating scheduled services between Islamabad and Bahrain.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Accident Synopsis". airdisaster.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b Ranter, Harro. "Criminal Occurrence description". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Crash of a Boeing 737-2P6 in Abu Dhabi: 112 killed | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". www.baaa-acro.com. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Airline crash caused by bomb, says report". Gulf Daily News. 23 September 1983. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 – via thecrom.com.
  5. ^ The Gulf Times, Qatar, (24 September 1983)
  6. ^ a b "112 Aboard Airliner Are Killed in Crash in Persian Gulf Sheikdom". The New York Times. 24 September 1983. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Investigation into Gulf plane crash". UPI. News World Communications. 23 September 1983. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  8. ^ Archive, Abdul Kareem, Head of (5 November 2018). "September 23, 1983: 112 killed in Gulf Air crash". Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema. Retrieved 12 February 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Abu Nidal behind 1983 Gulf Air bombing: Aide". Indiainfo.com. Agence France-Presse. 22 August 2002. Archived from the original on 7 March 2005.
  10. ^ "Al Arabiya show reveals how Abu Nidal blew up a Gulf plane in UAE skies". Al Arabiya. 20 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Gulf Air flight GF771". FlightRadar24. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
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