Egypt Air Flight 648 Hijacking, 1985

Egypt Air Flight 648 Hijacking, 1985 [File photo]

On Nov. 23, 1985, Egypt Air Flight 648, a Boeing 737 airliner, was scheduled to fly from Athens to Cairo. About 10 minutes after takeoff, three Palestinian members of Abu Nidal, heavily armed with guns and grenades, hijacked the aircraft.

Libya was the original destination for the hijackers, but the pilot indicated that the plane did not have enough fuel, so they chose Malta as a more suitable option. After the plane landed in Malta, the terrorists killed a number of hostages and asked to refuel the plane, but Malta refused their request. Finally, the Egyptian government sent a group of raiders and the United States sent three anti-terrorism experts to the site to rescue the crew members and passengers on the plane. The tragedy caused 60 deaths and 28 injuries.