Date:	Friday 28 August 1992
Time:
Type:	Boeing 727-260
Owner/operator:	Ethiopian Airlines
Registration:
MSN:
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17R
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 86
Aircraft damage:	None
Category:	UI
Location:	Roma-Ciampino Airport (CIA) -   Italy
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Addis Ababa-Bole Airport (ADD/HAAB)
Destination airport:	Bahar Dar Airport (BJR/HABD)

Narrative:
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 551, a Boeing 727 aircraft, was hijacked during a domestic flight from Addis Ababa (ADD) to Bahar Dar (BJR). Seventy-seven passengers and nine crew members were on board the plane. The five hijackers were armed with handguns and grenades and demanded to be flown to San'a, Yemen; however, they were denied permission to land. At the crew's request, the aircraft diverted to Djibouti where the passengers were released. The aircraft then departed for Aden, Yemen, where it remained for 13 hours. Continuing on to Cairo, Egypt, the aircraft was refueled and then landed at Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, after having been denied landing authority in Athens, Greece. On Sunday, August 30, the hijackers, who claimed to be political dissidents, surrendered to authorities in Rome and requested asylum. No injuries were reported.
On September 29, 1992, the five men were sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.

Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1992 / U.S. Department of Transport, FAA, Office of Civil Aviation Security

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