Air Vietnam Flight 706

1974 hijacking

Air Vietnam Flight 706

XV-NJC, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1971 in previous livery

Hijacking
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 (DAD/VVDN)
Da Nang, South Vietnam
Destination| Saigon-Tan Son Nhat Int'l Airport
(SGN/VVTS)
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

[edit]

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.[citation needed] 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.[1] 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.[1]

Shortly before the plane exploded, the pilot radioed that the hijacker was pulling the pins on two grenades.[1] 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.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "2 Yanks, 68 killed in skyjacking". Chicago Tribune. 16 September 1974. p. 17. Retrieved 2 June 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ 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.

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Aviation accidents and incidents in Vietnam

* Flying Tiger Line Canadair CL-44 crash (December 1966)
* May 1968 Kham Duc C-130 shootdown (May 1968)
* 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)
* Vietnam Airlines Flight 850 (September 1992)
* Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 (November 1992)

This includes the former South Vietnam

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* e

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1974 (1974)

Jan 6

Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317

Jan 6

Aeroflot Flight H-75

Jan 24

Togo crash

Jan 26

Turkish Airlines Flight 301

Jan 30

Pan Am Flight 806

Feb 22

Delta Airlines Flight 523

Mar 3

Turkish Airlines Flight 981

Mar 13

Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 802

Mar 15

Sterling Airways Flight 901

Apr 4

Francistown Wenela Air Services Douglas DC-4 crash

Apr 18

Court Line Flight 95

Apr 22

Pan Am Flight 812

Apr 27

Aeroflot Il-18 crash

Jul 10

EgyptAir Tupolev Tu-154 crash

Jul 23

British Airways bombing attempt

Aug 9

Buffalo 461

Aug 9

Norfolk mid-air collision

Sep 8

TWA Flight 841

Sep 11

Eastern Air Lines Flight 212

Sep 15

Air Vietnam Flight 706

Oct 30

Panarctic Oils Flight 416

Nov 20

Lufthansa Flight 540

Dec 1

TWA Flight 514

Dec 1

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231

Dec 4

Martinair Flight 138

Dec 22

Avensa Flight 358

1973  ◄ ► 1975
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