Vrede Airlines Flight 1080 Incident

Vrede Airlines Flight 1080

Map of the Incident
Hijacking
Date	12 July 1994 (1994-07-12)
Summary	terrorist hijacking suicide
Site	Anchor Lake, Salamat
Total fatalities	198 (presumed, including 3 hijackers)
Total injuries	0
Total missing	168
Total survivors	0
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A340
Operator	VredeAirlines
Registration	NX-RQP
Flight origin	Dar Al Hamma-Shahid Airport, Salamat
Destination	Elmer International Airport, Nexalan
Occupants	198 (including 3 hijackers)
Passengers	190 (including 3 hijackers)
Crew	8
Fatalities	198 (presumed)
Injuries	0
Missing	168
Survivors	0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	0
Ground injuries	0

Accident

Vrede Airlines Flight 1080 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Dar Al Hamma-Shahid Airport in Salamat to Elmer International Airport in Nexalan. The flight was operated by Vrede Airlines. On July 12th, 1994 at 13:47 UTC Flight 1080 left the Dar Al Hamma-Shahid Airport in Salamat on Runway 36L, 27 minutes into the flight, 3 hijackers forcefully broke into the cockpit and shot and murdered Pilot Gibson Riley and Co-Pilot Patricia Yang, the head of the terrorist attack Hussein Khalil took control of the plane, the other terrorist then announced their plans on the plane to crash into the downtown area of Dar Al Hamma, with the motive of Islamic extremism during the Salamati Civil War. Around 8 minutes after the hijacking, according to flight recordings many passengers attacked the hijackers by trying to regain control of the plane, however because of this the plane began to stall and go out of control, ultimately crashing into the Anchor Lake, presumably killing everyone on board as of a result. Finding the aircraft was difficult, and took over 8 hours until it was found split in half and mostly under the ocean. Because of this, a total of 163 passengers and crew members were declared missing, as they could not find their bodies, it is assumed that they sank down in the ocean, which search and rescue teams found unnecessary and dangerous. In 1998, skeletal remains of a 17-year-old boy and a 32-year-old woman were found on an nearby island buried under sand, and in 2004, a skull was found washed up on the shore of an island, the identity of whose skull it was is unknown, but is presumed to be in relation to the crash. Additionally, many briefcases have been found floating around before, the most recent sighting was in 2006. All three bodies of the hijackers were identified, as well as the flight recording device after the crash. After the attack Vrede Airlines officials declared that flights to Salamat will temporarily stop, it wasn't until 2016 when flights to Salamat began with Vrede Airlines.

Flight 1080 Hijackers (Left to Right: Hussein Khalil, Timin Baksh, Shafiq Lone)

Response

Following the Hijacking, President of Nexalan Barren Walsh (c. 1987-1995) made a statement about the hijacking in a two hour speech, he then commemorated all Nexalan citizens who were on the flight, including Kate Griffin who was a engineer of the NNSA who was the lead engineer and designer of Project Bird, which was a rover in the process of being built with the goal of it being put on Stratos, following her death the project was cancelled, she was in Salamat visting the Space Agency of Salamat, since then a memorial was set up at the NNSA on 1998, and her unfinished rover is on display at the Nexalan National Space Museum in Ulmic.

Photo of Flight 1080 submurged under water, the other half of the plane is fully decomposed (2008).