Altivebrian Air Flight AA-726 hijacking

On 14 February, 1984; the Altivebrian Air Flight AA 726 was hijacked by six militants of the Organizo Rezizto el Alconbria (ORA). According to the attackers, the object of the hijacking was to bring international attention towards the Altivebrian Civil War, and persuade the possibility of the independence and creation of an Alconbrian state.

The flight was scheduled to take off from Washington DC and land on Nuevo Seville, with the duration of journey estimated to be around 6 hours. The plane was delayed for 45 minutes in Washington DC due to heavy rains. The plane took off around 5:00 AM UTC.

The hijackers began to gain control of the plane exactly an hour after take-off. A 24 year old Altivebrian flight attendant was shot and killed by the militants, and her body was dropped into the cargo hold. All the passengers were moved to the rear of the plane, and the hijackers destroyed all available parachutes to prevent escapes. The hijackers instructed the captain, 42 year old American David Wallace to land in the Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport, The Bahamas.

After 2 hours from take-off, the plane landed in the Grand Bahama Airport and taxied to an empty concrete path in the end of the runway. The plane remained there for 12 hours. While the plane was stationary, the news reached to the President of Altivebrio, and President Felipe de Curtis ordered a military intervention to rescue all passengers.

An Altivebrian tried to overpower a terrorist, and was shot to death along with a female American. Both their bodies were thrown out of the aircraft.

The Altivebrian government pressurized the Bahamas government to take action against the terrorists, but the Bahamian government refused to do so. The Altivebrio Defense Forces prepared for an military operation to rescue the hostages after receiving an approval from the legislature. According to radio transmits by the lead hijacker, the aircraft was supposed to remain stationary in the Bahamas till their cause was completed, however, in 7:00 PM, the plane took off without receiving permission from the ATC tower. The plane flew 150 ft above the sea to avoid detection from military radars, and landed in Sidano on 11:00 PM.

The ADF only received the wherabouts of the plane after it had landed in Sidano, and immediately planned an operation on the spot to save the operations. Disguised as Alconbria Liberation Council fighters, they smuggled themselves into ALC controlled Sidano and then drove a civilian vehicle to the Sidano Second Airstrip. The terrorists somehow were aware of the ADF operation, and escaped the plane leaving the hostages behind, and set fire to it. All the remaining hostages were killed. The terrorists transferred the crew to a building, and held them hostage there. The ADF reached the airport on 12:39 AM the next day, and began to fire at the building. Two ADF personnel were shot and killed, while the ADF fired rockets into the building. The Military of Alconbria came to aid the terrorists, and succeeded in killing all of the 50 ADF personnels, while the Military of Alconbria had 2 casulaties, and 2 of the ORA militants were also killed. The crew of the plane were then stripped naked, and executed (except one), all was filmed on camera. A 30 year old male attendant expressed sympathy for the Alconbrian cause, and was spared. He (Alejandro Romasso) then joined the Alconbria Liberation Council as a spokesperson.

Aftermath

The hijacking bought worldwide attention towards the Altivebrian Civil War, and Mexico decided to support the Alconbria Liberation Council, while Cuba decided to provide logistical support. However, many countries condemned this attack, and the European Union, along with several Asian countries sided with Altivebrio. The USSR expressed it's support to the Alconbrian cause.

Statistics

• Passengers - 106
• Killed - 106
• Crew - 12
• Killed - 11
• Hijackers - 6
• Hijackers Killed - 2

Passenger Nationalities: Altivebrian - 89 American - 14 Mexican - 2 Canadian - 1