JA8033, the aircraft involved in the hijacking, at Honolulu International Airport in 1969
| |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 28 September 1977 |
| Summary | Hijacking |
| Site | Dhaka International Airport, Bangladesh |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-8-62[1] |
| Operator | Japan Air Lines |
| Registration | JA8033[2] |
| Flight origin | Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France |
| Stopover | Santacruz Airport, Bombay, India |
| Destination | Tokyo International Airport, Tokyo, Japan |
| Passengers | 142 (including 5 hijackers) |
| Crew | 14 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 156 (all) |
Japan Air Lines Flight 472 was an aircraft hijacking carried out by the Japanese Red Army (JRA) on 28 September 1977.
The Douglas DC-8, en route from ParistoHaneda Airport in Tokyo with 156 people on board, stopped in Bombay, India. Shortly after taking off from Bombay, five armed JRA members, led by Osamu Maruoka, hijacked the aircraft and ordered it flown to Dhaka, Bangladesh. At Dhaka, the hijackers took the passengers and crew hostage, demanding US$6 million and the release of nine imprisoned JRA members.[3] The Chief of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air Force, AG Mahmud, negotiated with the hijackers from the control tower.[4] Things were further complicated at the airport when on 1 October 1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutinied with the lead negotiator almost being killed.[5] The next day (29 September), five hostages were released, including American actress Carole Wells,[3] who was on her honeymoon with her husband, former California assemblyman Walter J. Karabian.[6] Karabian remained on board.
On 1 October Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda announced that the Japanese government would accept the hijackers' demands, on the principle that "the life of a single person outweighs the earth." Six of the imprisoned JRA members were then released.[1]
A chartered Japan Airlines flight carried the money and the six released JRA members to Dhaka, where the exchange took place on 2 October. The hijackers released 118 passengers and crew members. On 3 October, they flew to Kuwait City and Damascus, where they released eleven more hostages. Finally, the aircraft was flown to Algeria, where it was impounded by authorities and the remaining hostages were freed.[1]
| Fugitives’ portraits from the official website of The Metropolitan police departments (in Japanese) | |
|---|---|
 Bando in c. 1987 | |
| Sasaki in c. 1998 | |
| Okudaira in c. 1998 | |
| Daidōji in c. 1994 | |
| Nihei in 1976 |
The incident contrasted the European and American approach of non-negotiation with terrorists to Japan's approach of appeasing terrorists if necessary. Shortly after the incident, Japan's National Police Agency established a Special Assault Team to deal with future acts of terrorism.[7] Several of the JRA terrorists involved in the hijacking have yet to be apprehended and their current whereabouts are unknown.[8]
Osamu Maruoka, who also led the hijacking of Japan Air Lines Flight 404 in 1973, escaped and remained a fugitive until 1987 when he was arrested in Tokyo after entering Japan on a forged passport. Given a life sentence, he died in prison on 29 May 2011.[9] Another of the hijackers, Jun Nishikawa, eventually returned to Japan, was arrested, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.[10]
|
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1977 (1977)
| |
|---|---|
Jan 5 Jan 13 Jan 13 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 Jan 15 Feb 15 Mar 17 British Airtours Boeing 707 crash Mar 27 Apr 4 Apr 12 Apr 27 May 10 May 14 May 27 Jul 10 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 hijacking Jul 20 Aug 1 Sep 27 Sep 27 Sep 28 Oct 13 Oct 20 Nov 19 Dec 2 Libyan Arab Airlines Tu-154 crash Dec 4 Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 Dec 13 Dec 17 Dec 18 SA de Transport Aérien Flight 730 Dec 19 | |
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| International |
|
| |
| Regional |
| ||
| LCC |
| ||
| Former |
| ||
| History |
| ||
| Services |
| ||
| People |
| ||
