Air Vietnam Flight 706

Air Vietnam Flight 706 was a Boeing 727 that crashed on September 15, 1974, near Phan Rang Air Base in South Vietnam.

Air Vietnam Flight 706
An Air Vietnam Boeing 727, similar to the aircraft involved in the incident
Hijacking
DateSeptember 15, 1974
SummaryHijacking
SitePhan Rang Air Base, Phan Rang, South Vietnam
11°38′N 108°57′E
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 727-121C
OperatorAir Vietnam
RegistrationXV-NJC
Flight originDa Nang Airport (DAD/VVDN)
Da Nang, South Vietnam
DestinationSaigon-Tan Son Nhat Int'l Airport
(SGN/VVTS)
Saigon, South Vietnam
Passengers67
Crew8
Fatalities75
Survivors0

Hijack

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. After taking off from Da Nang International Airport (IATA:DAD/ICAO: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, holding two grenades. He demanded to be flown to Hanoi in North Vietnam. For unknown reasons the pilots approached the airfield at Phan Rang Air Base but aborted the landing.[1]

Crash

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]

Cause

Even though the exact cause remains unclear, it has been speculated that the hijacker caused the crash by setting off his grenades after the pilots refused to give in to his demands.[3]

See also

References
  1. "ACCIDENT DETAILS". planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  2. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-121C XV-NJC Phan Rang Air Base (PHA)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  3. "Crash of a Boeing 727-121C in Phan Rang: 75 killed". www.baaa-acro.com. Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
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