Narrative:Iran Air flight IR723 from Tehran to Vienna, Austria and Frankfurt, Germany, was hijacked by two passengers, armed with a knife and hand gun.
The aircraft was hijacked about half an hour before it was due to land at Vienna at 07:10 UTC. The flight crew then reported to the Vienna ATC that they were diverting to London because of (unconfirmed) bad weather at Vienna and Frankfurt.
Meanwhile a security guards came down from the upper deck and overpowered the hijackers.
The flight continued to Frankfurt after 45 minutes on the ground at London-Heathrow.
Classification:
Hijack
Sources:
» Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1988 / U.S. Department of Transport, FAA, Office of Civil Aviation Security
» The Observer 6-11-1988
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Wien-Schwechat International Airport to Frankfurt International Airport as the crow flies is 618 km (386 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.