 The aircraft involved in the hijacking, photographed in 1999 | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 26 to 27 March 1991 |
| Summary | Aircraft hijacking |
| Site | Changi Airport, Singapore 1°21′33″N 103°59′22″E / 1.35917°N 103.98944°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A310-324 |
| Operator | Singapore Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | SQ117 |
| ICAO flight No. | SIA117 |
| Call sign | Singapore 117 |
| Registration | 9V-STP |
| Flight origin | Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport |
| Destination | Changi Airport, Singapore |
| Occupants | 129 (including 4 hijackers) |
| Passengers | 118 (including 4 hijackers) |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 4 (hijackers) |
| Injuries | 2 |
| Survivors | 125 |
Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was a Singapore Airlines flight that was hijacked en route by four Pakistani terrorists on 26 March 1991.
The aircraft landed in Singapore. The hijackers, who claimed to be members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), demanded the release of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who later became President of Pakistan, as well as other PPP members from jail.
As their demands were not being met, the hijackers threatened to begin killing the hostages; before their deadline expired, commandos from the Special Operations Force (SOF) stormed the plane, killing the hijackers and freeing all hostages unhurt.[1] This was the first and only hijacking involving a Singapore Airlines aircraft.[2]
- ^ Choi Kee, Choy (4 May 2010). "History snippets: 1981 Onwards (A Maturing SAF): 1991 – SQ 117 Rescue". Singaporean Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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