2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident On 22 November 2003 , shortly after takeoff from Baghdad , Iraq , an Airbus A300B4-200F cargo plane , registered OO-DLL and owned by European Air Transport ( doing business as DHL Express ) was struck on the left wing tip by a surface-to-air missile while on a scheduled flight to Muharraq , Bahrain . Severe wing damage resulted in a fire and complete loss of hydraulic flight control systems . Because outboard left wing fuel tank 1A was full at takeoff , there was no fuel-air vapour explosion . Liquid jet fueldropped away as 1A disintegrated . Inboard fuel tank 1 was pierced and leaking . 1 Returning to Baghdad , the three-man crew made an injury-free landing of the seriously damaged A300 , using differential engine thrust as the only pilot input . This is despite major damage to a wing , total loss of hydraulic control , a faster than safe landing speed and a ground path which veered off the runway surface and onto unprepared ground . 2 '' Paris Match '' reporter Claudine Vernier-Palliez accompanied a Fedayeenunit on their strike mission against the DHL aircraft . 3 Sara Daniel , a French weekly newsmagazine journalist claimed receipt , from an unknown source , of a video that showed insurgents , faces concealed , firing a missile at the DHL A300 . 4 5 Daniel was researching a feature about Iraqi resistance groups but she disclaimed any specific knowledge of the people who carried out the attack , despite being present at the moment of attack . 5
2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident
2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident
Loss of control (aeronautics)