The plane crashed near Mina Jebel Ali |
What happened?
An investigation was carried out by the American National Transportation Safety Board, and they released a 400-page report on their findings, which was not immediately published in the Gulf. The report was revealed in September 1987 by British politician Sir Dudley Smith, under pressure from the parents of British stewardess Lyn Farthing who perished in the crash. Others among the crew on board included British stewardess Sally Anne of Peterborough and Bahraini steward Hashim Sayed Abdullah.
A Gulf Air Boeing 737-2P6 |
The report indicated a bomb in the baggage hold as the primary cause of the accident, due to the following factors:
- A passenger who checked in baggage at Karachi but never boarded the plane.
- The nature of injuries to passengers who were seated above the baggage hold.
- A sudden interruption to an otherwise normally operating flight.
- Data obtained from the aircraft's flight data recorder.
Evidence points to Abu Nidal, a radical Palestinian extremist and head of the militant Palestinian splinter group also known as the Abu Nidal organization.
Casualties:
105 passengers and 5 crew members were on the airplane. All 110 died. 96 Pakistanis (most of whom were returning from spending Eid holidays in their native Pakistan), 7 Britons, One American and one Iranian.
Gulf Daily News' frontpage on after the crash |
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