Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961

ETHIOPIAN BOEING 787-8 ET-ASH (MSN 38754)

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was an international flight Addis Ababa-Bole Airport (ADD/HAAB)
to Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO/HKJK). On the 23rd of November 1996, the Boeing 767-200ER operating the flight was hijacked by three Ethiopians seeking asylum in Australia while en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. The plane crash-landed in the Indian Ocean near Grande Comore, Comoros Islands, after running out of fuel. Of the 175 people on board, 125 died in the water landing, including the three hijackers and six of the twelve crew members. It was the first recorded ditching of a wide-body aircraft.

About twenty minutes after takeoff, around 08:29 UTC, a passenger suddenly jumped from his seat and rushed up the aisle toward the cockpit, with two others quickly following. As they ran, one of them turned and shouted, “Everybody stay seated, I have a bomb!” They burst through the cockpit door, claiming there were eleven hijackers on board, badly assaulting the First Officer, and forced him out of the cockpit. Grabbing a fire axe and a fire extinguisher from their storage, they ordered the remaining pilot to divert the flight to Australia. The pilot explained they didn’t have enough fuel for the trip and insisted on stopping in Mombasa to refuel.

Aircraft Information:
Airline: Ethiopian Airlines 
Code: ET/ETH
Aircraft: Boeing 767-260Er
Registration: ET-IAZ
Serial Number: 23916
Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4E
First Flew: 22 October 1987
Age: 9.1 Years