Qayisa Airlines Flight 558B
Map of the Incident (Green line : planned route Red line : actual route Pink dot : refused landing Blue dot : landing) | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 30 April 1986-5 May 1986 |
| Summary | Hostage crisis which lasted for 6 days |
| Site | Anchor Lake, Salamat |
| Total fatalities | 7 (excluding 3 hijackers) |
| Total injuries | 3 |
| Total missing | 0 |
| Total survivors | 226 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A220 |
| Operator | Qayisa Airlines |
| Registration | QY-NAK |
| Flight origin | Jahgajh International Airport, Kakland |
| 1st stopover | Dura International Airport, Ahia |
| 2nd stopover | Dar Al Hamma International Airport, Salamat |
| 3rd stopover | Or Peretz International Airport, Yryel |
| 4th stopover | Kalvat International Airport, Bakyern |
| Last stopover | Ingrið's Dream Royal Airport, Sauthar |
| Destination | Dura International Airport, Ahia |
| Occupants | 234 (including 3 hijackers) |
| Passengers | 225 (including 3 hijackers) |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Injuries | 3 |
| Missing | 0 |
| Survivors | 226 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 2 |
| Ground injuries | 5 |
The Qayisa Airlines Flight 558B was an Airbus A220 aircraft that was hijacked in the morning of April 30 1986 by three members of the Salamati Secret Services while travelling on the Jahgajh/Dura route. The hijacking's goal was to relieve Salamat of its international sanctions, which crippled the country's economy since 1982.
Crew
The crew of the flight was composed of 9 persons :
- Salas Jahkarhi
- Aleksandre Vahani
- Haksarad Stalas
- Hàstořa Býkargos
- Hantan Baan h'Ka
- Isar Waj
- Jahman Isaac Yarsk
- Kana Sarvonov
- Aleko Siokla
Hijackers
The three hijackers of the aircraft were :
- Faris Al Wajabi, named Alpha by the passengers (June 26 1954 - May 7 1986), he was the leader of the hijacking, and was responsible of most of the crew murders. He will later die of his injuries after the raid by the counterterrorism groups coalition in Sauthar.
- Zaid Afdhal, named Bob by the passengers (October 30 1961 - May 4 1986), was the negociator with most of the foreign authorities, asking for the appeasement of the embargo. He didn't reveal his identity to the passengers ; his name was found on his passport, alongside his fake Kakish passport.
- Chams (Real name unknown) (c.1956 - May 5 1986), was the caretaker of the passengers, however he rarely spoke and his face was masked with a balaclava. He is responsible for the execution of a passenger who complained because he couldn't go to the bathroom.
Hijacking
At 08:45 on April 30 1986, Qayisa Airlines Flight 558B, an Airbus A220, took off from Jahgajh in destination to Dura with 225 passengers and 9 crew. However, at 09:10 local, while flying above the border between Kakland and Ahia, the three hijackers bursted into the cockpit, pointing pistols at the pilot, the co-pilot and other crew members. Al Wajabi demanded the pilot to continue his route to Dura, in order to refuel. The air traffic control of Dura International Airport, however, wasn't informed of the hijacking at the moment.
Ahia
Flight 558B landed in Dura International Airport at 09:28. The airport crew intervened after 30 minutes without any passenger unboarding the plane. Afdhal talked to the Ahian ATC and the airport crew, demanding refueling of the airplane, the appeasement of the sanctions imposed of Salamat, or else the passengers and the crew would face "severe consequences". The Ahian airport employees also brought food into the airplane, and the plane was refueled. At 13:03, the plane took off from Dura.
Salamat
Flight 558B then flew northward. The fuel in the plane could only allow the plane to go to Ouardania. The hijackers demanded to land in Khirmania's Mukada International Airport, however they were denied landing permission at 14:48 (UTC-1). They then submitted a request to Salamat, which supported the hijacking, to land at Dar Al Hamma International Airport. They were granted landing permission at 15:23 and they landed at 15:41. At their arrival in Salamat, some supporters of Jalil Al Kharrabi were celebrating the hijackers, and General Anwar Bashrah was at the airport, ready to decorate the hijackers. The plane was refueled, more food was sent, along with the emptying of toilet tanks. The plane was stationed at Dar Al Hamma for two days, and was like a "prize" or a "monument", with thousands of Salamatis coming to see the plane. Al Kharrabi reportedly visited the airport in the morning of May 1st 1986, and made a speech in front of the aircraft in State TV. He declared that "This plane will fly until sanctions are lifted on our fatherland". Immediately, various countries condemned the hijacking. After two days of stationment, the auxillary power unit of the airplane became defectuous. Al Wajabi called technicians to fix the issue, which they did. At 19:23 local on May 2, the plane took off en route to Yryel's Or Peretz International Airport.
Yryel
At 20:12, they were denied landing access to Or Peretz International Airport in Ramah. Initially, Afdhal wanted to land in The Cape Bay's Lo Lanno International Airport, but Al Wajabi disagreed, and wanted to land in Yryel. The disagreement escalated in a fight, which resulted in the execution of a woman. Afdhal demanded landing access in Lo Lanno, which we was denied at 20:34. Both Al Wajabi and Afdhal then recalled Ramah's ATC, which told them that the runways were blocaded with jeeps and military vehicles, and that they couldn't land. However, the plane flew over the airport once, then were assigned a landing frequency. They landed at 21:01 local time. The plane was at first surrounded by Yryeli soldiers. Afdhal, angry about this, demanded the immediate removal of the troops or else they would execute 5 passengers every 10 minutes. The soldiers withdrew from the runway. At the same moment, the body of the woman killed in the fight was thrown out of the plane, and was immediately recovered by Yryeli airport staff. The airplane was parked and refueled, and remained in Or Peretz International Airport for one full day. Without obtaining clearance from the Or Peretz ATC, the plane took off from the airport at 04:35 on May 4.
Bakyern
The aircraft then flew above the eastern coast of Thuadia, demanding landing access to Gabrielland. However, they were denied access at 05:03 (UTC-3), due to the political instability of the country at the moment. The hijackers continued flying for about 2 and a half hours before entering Norvinian airspace. Afdhal demanded to land in Ashborne, however, they were told that the airport was blockaded at 06:39 (UTC-4) and that they should exit the airspace or the aircraft would be shot down. The hijackers then turned left into Bakyern, where they also submitted a request at 06:46. The Bakyernian immediately denied landing four minutes later. The hijackers, desperate, were also told by a passing airliner that Aramos also blocaded its airport. Kistolia also denied access to New Hesoluo's airport at 07:02. Having no solution, the aircraft landed on a grass field near the Kalvat International Airport at 07:13, May 4 1986 local time. The hijackers, angry, decided to kill two stewards, the co-pilot and a teenage boy, in protest to the Bakyernian refusal to let the aircraft land. Immediately, Bakyernian soldiers retrieved the bodies, and surrounded the aircraft. The hijackers demanded immediate withdrawal of the troops, or else they would burn the aircraft to the ground. The Bakyernians withdrawn, and offered to refuel the plane.
At the same time, numerous countries like Kakland, Ahia, TBA, TBA and TBA reunited the morning of May 4 to discuss about the hijacking and how to end the hostage crisis. Sauthar invited the concerned countries special forces to train there with their own special forces
At about 08:24 local time, a steward was commanded by Al Wajabi to verify if the plane was not damaged by the landing in the grass. However, the steward took time to inspect, and when he came back, at 09:53, he was killed on the spot and thrown out of the plane.
The plane took off from Bakyern at 13:30.
Sauthar
Only 30 minutes after taking off from Bakyern, the aircraft briefly flew in the Norvinian airspace, where they were escorted by fighter planes. The aircraft exited the airspace 2 minutes later. Al Wajabi then submitted a request to Sauthar, which was promptly refused at 15:01. Afdhal told the Sautharian ATC that the plane was going to land anyways, due to the low fuel reserves. The plane landed at Ingrið's Dream Royal Airport at 15:53 on May 4 1986, encountering no armed forces. The hijackers demanded food and fuel, but the airport staff told them that they didn't have any fuel left (which was false). Al Wajabi immediately threatened to kill every passenger and crew. Shortly after, the plane was stationed next to an empty fuel tank and Afdhal was offered to negociate with foreign country officials about the fate of the hostages and the embargo imposed of Salamat, which he accepted. At the same time, Chams killed a passenger who complained about his necessity to go to the bathroom and threw his body off the plane at 18:06. Afdhal was invited into a VIP lounge of the airport, with Sautharian special forces disguised in officials. Shortly after the official start of the negociations, Afdhal pulled out his gun to menace the officials, and was killed by the special forces.
Al Wajabi became anxious about Afdhal, and demanded to go to the negociations.His request was denied, and the Sautharians told him that the embargo will be lifted. At 21:14, a coalition of special forces arrived in Sauthar and started preparing for the assault. At 02:04 on May 5, the raid on the aircraft began ; The passengers were ordered to exit the plane and a massive gunfight started and lasted for 3 minutes, before the death of Chams and the injury of Al Wajabi, which will surrender. Two members of the coalition were killed.
Aftermath
International reactions
Salamati embargo
Shortly after the end of the hostage crisis, most of the countries voted for an extension of the embargo on Salamat, in order to "weaken the despotic regime of Jalil Al Kharrabi". This decision will cripple the economy of Salamat even further in the future, and will partially result in the collapse of the regime in February 1992.