Investigation Summary
Fifteen minutes into the flight from Sanaa, a 32-year-old unemployed Iraqi man, later identified as Jabir Ali Nasir, produced a small pen gun and threatened the crew. He demanded the aircraft divert to Baghdad, Iraq, to seek employment and express his political views. The aircraft was carrying several high-profile diplomats, including Barbara Bodine, the United States Ambassador to Yemen. The flight crew, led by Captain Amer Anis, informed the hijacker that the Boeing 727 did not have sufficient fuel to reach Baghdad and required a stopover. They successfully negotiated a diversion to Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport. Upon landing in Djibouti, the crew waited for an opportunity to act. During a confrontation on the ground, the crew engaged the hijacker physically. In the ensuing struggle, the hijacker fired his pen gun, grazing the flight engineer, but the crew managed to restrain him until local authorities could take him into custody. No explosives were found in the hijacker's suitcase.
Final Conclusions
The incident was concluded to be a hijacking by a lone individual seeking political asylum or employment in Iraq. The hijacker was extradited from Djibouti to Yemen, where he stood trial. In March 2001, a Yemeni court sentenced him to 15 years in prison for the hijacking.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
Pen Gun
A small, single-shot firearm designed to resemble a writing pen, used by the hijacker to threaten the crew and passengers.
Interesting Facts
- 01The hijacker was armed with a pen gun, a small concealable firearm.
- 02U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Barbara Bodine was among the 91 passengers on board.
- 03The hijacker claimed to have explosives in his suitcase, which was later proven false.
- 04The flight engineer was the only person injured during the incident.
- 05The hijacker was an unemployed Iraqi national seeking to go to Baghdad.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Hijacker Extradition and Sentencing
The perpetrator was extradited to Yemen and sentenced to 15 years in prison to deter future acts of air piracy.
Location
ACCIDENT SITE · Coordinates taken from the wikidata coordinate.