ethiopia flight 961 crashes in to the sea
23 November 1996
title: Leul Abate text: Leul Abate Captain Leul Abate (Ge'ez: born 1954) is an Ethiopian pilot who piloted Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, which was hijacked on 23 November 1996, fifteen minutes out from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, by three Ethiopians seeking political asylum in Australia. The plane crashed in the Indian Ocean near The Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 125 of the 175 passengers and crew on board. Leul observed that, "[The hijackers] knew they wouldn't make it to Australia - they just wanted us to crash. They should be dead. The way they were talking they didn't want to live." Four title: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 text: on 30 November 1996. The incident has become a well-known hijacking because of the videotape. This was one of very few large airliner water landings, and was the first hijacked water landing. Both the captain and first officer of the flight received aviation awards, and both continued to fly for Ethiopian Airlines. The crash was featured in three episodes of "Mayday" ("Air Emergency", "Air Crash Investigation"). The first appearance was in season 1 to explain what might have happened if Air Transat Flight 236 had ditched instead of landing in a nearby airport. In season 3, an episode ("Ocean Landing") title: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 text: some ten degrees; the left engine and wingtip struck the water first. The engine acted as a scoop and struck a coral reef, slowing that side of the aircraft quickly and causing the Boeing 767 to suddenly tilt left. The rest of the aircraft then entered the water unevenly, causing it to break apart. Except for the rear part of the airframe, the broken portions of the fuselage sank rapidly. Many passengers died because they inflated their life jackets in the cabin, causing them to be trapped inside by the rising water. Island residents and tourists, including a group of title: Mitsamiouli text: from Mitsamiouli and leads to the village of Bangoi Mafsankoa further inland, which has its own mosque. Lac Sale Crater – Lac Sale is an ancient volcano crater, near Mitsamiouli, filled with sea water. Tourism is important in the area, particularly from European honeymooners. Fishing is also practiced in Mitsamiouli. Mitsamiouli Mitsamiouli (population 6,100) is a town on the northwest coast of Grande Comore in the Comoros. On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 made a crash-landing in the shallow waters offshore from Le Galawa Beach Hotel in Mitsamiouli. Of the 175 passengers, 125 died, despite rescue attempts by title: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 text: make an emergency landing at Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport on Grande Comore, but a fight with the hijackers at the last minute caused him to lose his visual point of reference, leaving him unable to locate the airport. While still fighting with the hijackers, he tried to ditch the aircraft in shallow waters off Le Galawa Beach Hotel, near Mitsamiouli at the northern end of Grande Comore island. Abate attempted to land parallel with the waves instead of against the waves in an effort to smooth the landing. Seconds prior to contacting the water the aircraft was banked left