In 1985 , Unit 777 was dispatched again to deal with a hijacking , this time to Malta . An Egypt Air Boeing 737 ( EgyptAir Flight 648 ) had landed in Luqa Airport under the control of Abu Nidal faction terrorists , purportedly as retaliation for Egypt 's failure to protect the terrorists that had hijacked the MS '' Achille Lauro '' earlier that year . Although the operation was planned more carefully this time , the TF 777 operators committed several mistakes that would eventually prove fatal to many of the hostages . As explosives were detonated to attempt to blow a hole on the top of the airframe , the explosion ripped through the cabin area , immediately killing 20 passengers . Using the same hole , the operators gained entry to the plane but in the confusion opened fire indiscriminately and killed and injured more passengers . In the ensuing chaos , passengers that managed to flee the plane were then gunned down by snipers in positions around the airport who mistook them for terrorists attempting to escape . The total number of passengers killed was 57 , out of 88 total
EgyptAir Flight 648
EgyptAir Flight 648
Unit 777