Air Vietnam Flight 706 - Misplaced Pages

1974 aircraft hijacking

Air Vietnam Flight 706
Hijacking
XV-NJC, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1971 in a previous livery
Date	September 15, 1974
Summary	Hijacking
Site	Phan Rang Air Base, Phan Rang, South Vietnam 11°38′N 108°57′E / 11.633°N 108.950°E / 11.633; 108.950
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-121C
Operator	Air Vietnam
Registration	XV-NJC
Flight origin	Da Nang Airport, Da Nang, South Vietnam
Destination	Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Saigon, South Vietnam
Passengers	67
Crew	8
Fatalities	75
Survivors	0

Air Vietnam Flight 706 was a Boeing 727 that crashed on September 15, 1974 after three hijackers detonated hand grenades as it was approaching Phan Rang Air Base in South Vietnam for an emergency landing. All 67 passengers and 8 crew members aboard the aircraft were killed in the crash.

Hijacking and crash

Le Duc Tan, a ranger in the South Vietnamese army who had recently been demoted from captain to lieutenant for the theft of two cars in Da Nang, smooth-talked his way past security checkpoints. After taking off from Da Nang International Airport (DAD/VVDN) in South Vietnam on a regularly scheduled flight to Saigon's Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN/VVTS), the flight was hijacked by Tan and two accomplices, holding two grenades. They demanded to be flown to Hanoi in North Vietnam. The pilot told the hijackers that he had to land for fuel at Phan Rang Air Base.

Shortly before the plane exploded, the pilot radioed that the hijacker was pulling the pins on two grenades. The aircraft overshot the base leg and initiated a left turn, during which it lost control. Shortly after that, it plunged to the ground from an altitude of 1,000 feet (300 m), killing all 75 people aboard.

References

^ "2 Yanks, 68 killed in skyjacking". Chicago Tribune. 16 September 1974. p. 17. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-121C XV-NJC Phan Rang Air Base (PHA)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 2019-09-20.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Vietnam
1960s	Flying Tiger Line Canadair CL-44 crash (December 1966) Kham Duc C-130 shootdown (May 1968)
1970s	Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z bombing (June 1972) Pan Am Flight 841 (July 1972) Air Vietnam Flight 706 (September 1974) Tân Sơn Nhứt C-5 accident (April 1975)
1990s	Vietnam Airlines Flight 850 (September 1992) Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 (November 1992)
This includes the former South Vietnam

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1974 (1974)
Jan 6 Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317Jan 6 Aeroflot Flight H-75Jan 24 Togo crashJan 26 Turkish Airlines Flight 301Jan 30 Pan Am Flight 806Feb 22 Delta Airlines Flight 523Mar 3 Turkish Airlines Flight 981Mar 13 Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 802Mar 15 Sterling Airways Flight 901Apr 4 Francistown Wenela Air Services Douglas DC-4 crashApr 18 Court Line Flight 95Apr 22 Pan Am Flight 812Apr 27 Aeroflot Il-18 crashJul 10 EgyptAir Tupolev Tu-154 crashJul 23 British Airways bombing attemptAug 9 Buffalo 461Aug 9 Norfolk mid-air collisionSep 8 TWA Flight 841Sep 11 Eastern Air Lines Flight 212Sep 15 Air Vietnam Flight 706Oct 12 United States Air Force WC-130 disappearanceOct 30 Panarctic Oils Flight 416Nov 20 Lufthansa Flight 540Dec 1 TWA Flight 514Dec 1 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231Dec 4 Martinair Flight 138Dec 22 Avensa Flight 358
1973 ◄ ► 1975

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1974 (1974)

Jan 6 Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317Jan 6 Aeroflot Flight H-75Jan 24 Togo crashJan 26 Turkish Airlines Flight 301Jan 30 Pan Am Flight 806Feb 22 Delta Airlines Flight 523Mar 3 Turkish Airlines Flight 981Mar 13 Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 802Mar 15 Sterling Airways Flight 901Apr 4 Francistown Wenela Air Services Douglas DC-4 crashApr 18 Court Line Flight 95Apr 22 Pan Am Flight 812Apr 27 Aeroflot Il-18 crashJul 10 EgyptAir Tupolev Tu-154 crashJul 23 British Airways bombing attemptAug 9 Buffalo 461Aug 9 Norfolk mid-air collisionSep 8 TWA Flight 841Sep 11 Eastern Air Lines Flight 212Sep 15 Air Vietnam Flight 706Oct 12 United States Air Force WC-130 disappearanceOct 30 Panarctic Oils Flight 416Nov 20 Lufthansa Flight 540Dec 1 TWA Flight 514Dec 1 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231Dec 4 Martinair Flight 138Dec 22 Avensa Flight 358

1973 ◄ ► 1975

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