Error In Judgement: The Buried Case of Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114

On 21st February 48 years back, Libyan Arab Airlines flight 114, a Boeing 727-200 (5A-DAH) was deliberately shot down by Israeli phantom fighter jets, killing all 108 of the 113 innocent civilians. What led to this "Error In Judgment" by the Israeli government? 

Before we dig in, let us understand the origins of the airlines and the aircraft.

Brief History of Libyan Airlines 

Formerly known as Libyan Arab Airlines, the flag carrier of Libya, fully owned and operated by the Libyan government, serves commercial passengers and cargo operation from its primary base at Tripoli International Airport and secondary at Benina International Airport in Benghazi. 

The airline has initiated the process of modernizing the majority of its fleet with an order worth US$108 million placed in 2007 at Paris Air Show for four Airbus A350-800s, four Airbus A330-200s, and seven A320s. The airline further ordered three Bombardier CRJ-900s, thus making a total of eight Bombardier CRJ-900s in its fleet.

 Moreover, in 2014, the airline also replaced the Airbus A350-800s order with the larger/longer A350-900 variant. 

The Libyan airlines  has currently replaced most of its aging aircraft, which to date, has a fleet of fourteen aircraft, ranging from Airbus A320, A330, ATR 42, and the Bombardier CRJ900s.

Brief History of 5A-DAH

The Boeing 727-200,  initially entered service with registration (N1782B) to Boeing Commercial, and then was next delivered to Libyan Airlines( formerly known as Libyan Arab Airlines) in 1970, with registration 5A-DAH. The aircraft was later written off due to damages after the incident in 1973.

What Occurred 

The Boeing 727-200 with nine crew, of which five were of french nationality, the (PIC) pilot-in-command, 42-year-old Jacques Bourges, were all contracted to Air France and the Libyan Arab Airlines. It was a scheduled Tripoli-Benghazi-Cairo passenger service with 123 crew and passengers on board, with a brief stop at Benghazi continued onward to Cairo. 

The LN114 after reaching Sidi Barrani in Egypt, At 13:45, the Cairo Traffic Control (CTC) saw the aircraft approaching from the west, and granted permission to land on runway 23.

 

By  13:50 the Cairo Traffic Control(CTC) saw the Boeing 727 headed eastwards towards Suez Canal. Due to strong upper-level winds from the west caused by the sandstorm, the crew had no option but to rely on aircrafts instruments.

The crew descending and looking out for the runway entered Israel-controlled airspace over the Sinai peninsula, which was then captured and monitored by Israeli ground forces illegally. Making things worse, the crew lost its communications with Cairo Traffic Control(CTC).

At an altitude of 15,000 feet near the south-east end of Suez, LN114 was detected by the Israeli airspace, who later sent 2 Israeli Air force Phantoms to intercept the suspected " Aerial Spy Mission Aircraft". 

Soon, communications with Cairo Traffic Control(CTC) were established by the crew of LN114 and mistook the Israeli fighter jets for Egyptian MIGs.

Descending at an alarming rate with a speed of 325 miles/hour, flight 114 continued flying deeper into the Sinai and veered to the west due to errors in their instruments. 

The Israeli fighter jets took this sign as an "attempt to flee" and made visual contact with the crew, who refused, with intentions to carry on with their approach. 

After several repeated signals refused by the crew of flight LN114, the Phantom's jets fired several shots, damaging most of the hydraulic systems, control systems, and the vertical stabilizer of the Boeing 727. The crew managed to attempt an emergency landing, but the aircraft hit the top surface of the dune.

In the end, a total of 108 civilians and crew perished due to burning wreckage, but 13 survived the incident.

The Aftermath of the Crash 

Unexpectedly, the Co-Pilot survived the crash and later confessed that the crew were aware of the fact that the jets wanted them to land, but couldn't take an abrupt decision and were following protocol.

Several nations including the Soviet Union and the United States condemned the attack, but the United Nations, in particular, did not take any action against the government. 

But in the end, Israel paid compensation to the victim's families and called it an "Error of Judgement". 

It is a must, we remember such tragic and immoral events, the innocent civilians who had no control and cluelessly paid their lives, by such non-consequential decisions made by authorities of governing organizations.

Reference 

("Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114", Viewed on 20th February 2021)