30 years ago today, Singapore Airlines 117 was hijacked while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. Today, the Prime Minister of Singapore recalled the incident in a tweet, commending the bravery of military members who executed what turned out to be a tense rescue effort.
Remembering The Hijacking Of Singapore Airlines 117 + Heroic Rescue
SQ117, operated by an Airbus A310, took off from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Kuala Lumpur enroute for Singapore on March 26, 1991. In the air, the flight was hijacked by four Pakistanis who claimed to represent the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). They were not armed with guns, but had knives and explosives.
The plane landed safely at 10:15PM in Singapore where a negotiating team was waiting. The hijackers demanded the release of Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who would later become President of Pakistan. They also demanded the plane be refueled so it could travel to Australia.
At 2:30AM, two flight attendants were pushed off and the plane moved to the outer tarmac. By 6:45AM, the hijackers warned they would begin killing passengers, one every 10 minutes, if their demands were not met within five minutes.
Two minutes later, a Singaporean commando team stormed the aircraft, killing all four hijackers. The leader was shot five times but remained alive. As he attempted to ignite an explosive device strapped to him, he was shot dead.
By 6:50AM, the aircraft was secure. No passengers or crew members were injured.
Today, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore remembered SQ117 in a tweet:
Older Singaporeans will recall the hijacking of SQ117. It happened 30 yrs ago tdy, on 26 Mar 1991. Then & now, our uniformed men & women are on guard, vigilantly safeguarding our peace & security. We salute them & give them our full support. – LHL https://t.co/K8DvCSwEgE
— leehsienloong (@leehsienloong) March 26, 2021
Check the account in the tweet above for more personal recollections of the hijacking incident.
CONCLUSION
With strict security screening and reinforced cockpit doors, we no longer live in an era of hijackings. It seems so foreign to recall how frequently they occurred just one generation ago.
I was not familiar with the details of SQ117 but now join Prime Minster Lee in saluting the commandos who successfully rescued the hostages without losing even one, 30 years ago today.
(H/T: SINJim // image: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt)
Thanks, Matthew – this is genuinely an interesting story. Unlike many incidents in Europe and the Middle East around that time, I didn’t remember this episode.
Remember it well; as a frequent flyer on that route at the time, it resonated very strongly. These flights operated as a shuttle from the old Subang Airport in KL ( before KLIA opened). Security was never very tight; certainly that changed after this event
I echo would @Greg said. Never really knew much about this incident. But, of course, that was the early 90’s, and I don’t remember much of anything from that time other than Nirvana and Screaming Trees concerts and living in a cloud of smoke.
I am familiar with SQ117, having read about it, seen a museum display, and read an article yesterday commemorating 30 years. The article I read had accounts from 3 people, a passenger, a steward, and a top government official.
The passenger was a businessman flying economy class. He sensed something was wrong after takeoff. When the passengers were moved back during the hijacking, a woman sat in the same row and kept talking to him despite the businessman trying to listen to what the hijackers were saying and trying to keep the woman quiet by ignoring her. When the gunshots rang out, he dove to the floor.
The steward witnessed another steward forced to drink water laced with a white powder. That steward became drowsy and was thrown off the plane, injuring his ankles. The witnessing steward thought the other steward was killed but that wasn’t the case. The drowsy steward was able to tell the police how many hijackers there were and a description. The steward was not trained in hijackings but soon afterwards, SQ introduced hijacking training to the cabin crew.
The government official was called at night and raced to government offices. They tricked the hijackers to allow the plane to be moved to a quieter area of the airport, which was the spot where they trained how to storm a plane. He considered storming the plane to be the last resort.
“It seems so foreign to recall how frequently they occurred just one generation ago”
Which was how frequent?
Between 1968 and 1972, 130 American airplanes were hijacked!
Full list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_hijackings#1970s
Yeah, and by the time this particular hijacking happened, the number of occurrences had already drastically reduced since the time frame you mentioned. So even one generation ago, it wasn’t as bad as times before.
An earlier hijacking, MH653 didn’t end so well. Enroute from Penang to KL, it was hijacked on approach; apparently they shot the pilots and it crashed, killing everyone ( more than 100). Although it was never proven, those responsible were believed to include Japanese Red Army; they were a menace and a curse for about a decade, involved in a number of deadly incidents including Tel Aviv and Rome airports, as well as other places ( and even some other activities in partnership ship with Baader Meinhof).
The 70s and 80s were the worst of it, culminating in Pan Am 103 ( and out of that tragedy finally came a more serious approach to security)…
Surprised they kept the flight number in service and on the same route, both immediately after and as recently as 2020. I’m guessing they will bring it back on the same route when Singapore resumes flights. I thought airlines usually stop using flight numbers associated with trauma.
Super interesting article to read, thank you for sharing that Matthew. Staying presently at a hotel you like: HR in MZ…
Really?! On business? How is it?
I am German and my wife is American. (other way around then u) We had just spent a good year in Virginia Beach area due to COVID and other personal reasons. I need to be in Germany for work, flew into FRA 2 days ago. Today, I attempted to walk from the HR MZ to Worms (where Luther was before the Diet in 1521. However I chickened out after KM31 and then took the train back to MZ. I think I will take train back tomorrow to where I stopped today and then continue walking to Worms.
Re. HR- Club on 6, Sauna, Pool and Fitness is closed. For club one can choose of a A La carte menu at Bellpeper. Breakfast is little reduced, but still great. The HR team here understands well how to maneuver a hotel during Covid season. Occupancy is LOW.