![]() A Malaysian Airline System Boeing 737-200 registered as 9M-MBH, similar to the aircraft involved in the incident. | |
Hijacking | |
---|---|
Date | 4 December 1977 |
Summary | Hijacking |
Site | Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia 1°23′19″N 103°31′53″E / 1.3887°N 103.5314°E |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Boeing 737-2H6 |
Operator | Malaysian Airline System |
Registration | 9M-MBD |
Flight origin | Penang International Airport |
Last stopover | Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport |
Destination | Singapore Int'l Airport (Paya Lebar) |
Occupants | 100 |
Passengers | 93 |
Crew | 7 |
Fatalities | 100 |
Survivors | 0 |
Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 (MH653) was a scheduled domestic flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, operated by Malaysian Airline System (MAS). On the evening of 4 December 1977, the Boeing 737-200 aircraft flying the service crashed at Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, while purportedly being diverted by hijackers to Singapore.[1] It was the first fatal air crash for Malaysia Airlines[2][3] (as the airline is now known), with all 93 passengers and 7 crew killed.[4][5] It is also the deadliest aviation disaster to occur on Malaysian soil.[6] The flight was apparently hijacked as soon as it reached cruise altitude. The circumstances in which the hijacking and subsequent crash occurred remain unsolved.
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