 B-3171, the aircraft involved in the hijacking | |
| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 29 June 2012 |
| Summary | Attempted hijacking |
| Site | En route shortly after departure from Hotan Airport, China |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Embraer E190 |
| Operator | Tianjin Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | GS7554 |
| ICAO flight No. | GCR7554 |
| Call sign | BOHAI 7554 |
| Registration | B-3171 |
| Flight origin | Hotan Airport, China |
| Destination | Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport, China |
| Occupants | 101 |
| Passengers | 92 (including 6 hijackers) |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 2 (hijackers) |
| Injuries | 13 (including 2 hijackers) |
| Survivors | 99 |
Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Hotan and Ürümqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region.[1] On 29 June 2012, an Embraer E190 operating the flight, took off from Hotan at 12:25 pm; within ten minutes, six ethnic Uyghur men, one of whom allegedly professed his motivation as jihad, announced their intent to hijack the aircraft, according to multiple witnesses. In response, passengers and crew resisted and successfully restrained the hijackers, who were armed with aluminium crutches and explosives.
The aircraft turned around and landed at 12:45 pm back in Hotan, where 11 passengers and crew and two hijackers were treated for injuries. Two hijackers died from injuries from the fight on board. The Xinjiang government classified the incident as terrorism. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reviewed Hotan airport's security measures and airport security was escalated in Xinjiang. The incident marked the first serious hijacking attempt in China since 1990, and the first fatal hijacking or attempted hijacking since the September 11 attacks.
- ^ "GS7554 Flight, Tianjin Airlines, Hotan to Ürümqi". www.flightr.net. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.