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TWA Flight 840 bombing

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For the earlier hijacking of TWA Flight 840, see TWA Flight 840 hijacking.
TWA Flight 840
The aircraft involved in the incident, seen in 1997
Bombing
DateApril 2, 1986
SummaryBombing
SiteArgos, Greece
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 727-231
OperatorTrans World Airlines
RegistrationN54340[1]
Flight originLos Angeles International Airport
1st stopoverJohn F. Kennedy International Airport
2nd stopoverLeonardo da Vinci Int'l Airport
3rd stopoverAthens (Ellinikon) Int'l Airport
DestinationCairo International Airport
Passengers115[2]
Crew7[2]
Fatalities4
Injuries7[3]
Survivors118[2]

Trans World Airlines Flight 840 was a regularly scheduled international flight from Los Angeles to Cairo via New York City, Rome, and Athens on April 2, 1986. About 20 minutes before landing in Athens, a bomb was detonated on the aircraft while it was over Argos, Greece, blasting a hole in the plane's starboard side. Four passengers died after being blown out, while another seven were injured by flying shrapnel and debris. The aircraft then made a successful emergency landing with no further loss of life.[4]

Aircraft

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The Boeing 727-231 involved in the incident was delivered to TWA in 1974, with the registration N54340.[5][6] It was fitted with 3 P&W JT8D-5 turbofan engines.[5]

Flight

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The flight originated in Los Angeles on a Boeing 747 and transferred to a Boeing 727 in Rome for the remainder of the flight.[7] After taking off from Rome, Italy, the flight remained uneventful until around 20 minutes before landing at Athens, when the aircraft was at around 11,000 feet (3,400 m).[8] A bomb hidden underneath seat 10F during an earlier leg of the flight detonated, blasting a hole in the starboard side of the fuselage in front of the wing.[7]

Four American passengers, including an eight-month-old infant, were ejected through the hole to their deaths below. The victims were identified as a Colombian-American man; and a woman, her daughter, and her infant granddaughter.[7] Seven others on the aircraft were injured by shrapnel as the cabin suffered a rapid decompression. However, as the aircraft was in the middle of its approach to Athens, the explosion was not as catastrophic as it would have been at a higher altitude.[7] The remaining 110 passengers survived the incident as pilot Richard "Pete" Petersen made an emergency landing.[7]

Aftermath

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The bodies of three of the four victims were later recovered from an unused Greek Air Force landing strip near Argos; the fourth was found in the sea.[7]

A group calling itself the Arab Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility, saying it was committed in retaliation for American imperialism and clashes with Libya in the Gulf of Sidra the week before.[9]

The aircraft was substantially damaged but was repaired and returned to service until TWA ceased operations in 2001. The aircraft was scrapped in 2002.[10]

Investigation

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Investigators concluded that the bomb contained one pound of plastic explosive. As the bomb was placed on the floor of the cabin, the explosion tore a hole downward, where the fuselage absorbed the most damage. It is suspected it had been placed beneath the seat on a previous journey by a Lebanese woman (later arrested, never convicted) who worked for the Abu Nidal Organisation, which was dedicated to the destruction of the state of Israel.[11] They had previously hijacked and bombed several other aircraft, as well as committing various terrorist attacks in parts of the Middle East.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FAA Registry (N54340)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  2. ^ a b c Smith, William E.; Borrell, John; Gondicas, Mirka (1986-04-14). "Terrorism Explosion on Flight 840". Time. Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  3. ^ "On This Day - 1986: Bomb tears hole in airliner over Greece". BBC News. BBC. 1986-04-02. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  4. ^ "TWA Pilot's Wife Says Her Husband is a Hero With PM-Plane-Bomb Bjt". AP News. Associated Press. 3 April 1986.
  5. ^ a b "Aircraft N54340 Data". Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  6. ^ "FAA Registry". Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Suro, Roberto (1986-04-03). "4 killed as bomb rips T.W.A plane on way to Athens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  8. ^ "TWA bombing survivor and author tells stories of second chances". 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Bomb Blast On Airliner Kills 4 Jet Lands Safely In Greece". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  10. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-231 N54340 Argos". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  11. ^ "Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)". mackenzieinstitute.com. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) attacked Airports & Airlines target (Apr. 2, 1986, Italy)". MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. April 3, 2001. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
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