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.
Classification:
Hijack
Sources:
» Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1992 / 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 Addis Ababa-Bole Airport to Bahar Dar Airport as the crow flies is 332 km (208 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.