Narrative:Air France flight 139 was hijacked by four terrorists, two of which were members of the German Baader-Meinhof Gang. They directed the plane to Benghazi, Libya. After a six and a half hour delay, the plane took off again and flew to Entebbe. On the ground at Entebbe the hijackers were joined by three others.
The passengers were transported to the airfield's old terminal building. The hijackers later released a large number of them, keeping 105 Israelis and Jews, which they threatened with death in case the Israeli government would not comply with their demand to release 53 Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli forces then launched a rescue mission. On the night of July 3 several C-130 Hercules planes landed at Entebbe. The soldiers freed the hostages in a lightning attack, killing all hijackers in the process. Also three hostages died in the attack, along with some Ugandan troops and one Israeli commando.
Classification:
Hijack
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 Athens-Ellinikon International Airport to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport as the crow flies is 2084 km (1302 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.