Narrative:While passengers were boarding Swissair Flight 125, a DC-10 flying from Chicago-O'Hare International Airport to Zürich, Switzerland, a man with a knife ran past the gate attendant, down the jetway, and onto the aircraft where he grabbed a female passenger and held the knife to her throat. The hijacker was not ticketed on the flight and the knife was later determined to be a pocket-knife. He shouted in broken English that he wanted to go to Switzerland and, in later interviews, said that he wanted to seek help there in having his films produced. After approximately 25 minutes of negotiations, the hijacker released the female passenger he was holding hostage and surrendered his knife to the police. He was arrested and charged with air piracy. The hostage was injured in the incident.
Classification:
Hijack
Sources:
» Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1986 / U.S. Department of Transport, FAA, Office of Civil Aviation Security
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 Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL to Zürich-Kloten Airport as the crow flies is 7081 km (4426 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.