| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 2, 1990 |
| Type | Passengers and crew taken hostage hours after 1st Gulf War started |
| Site | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| Passengers | 367 |
| Crew | 18 |
| Injuries | ? |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 384 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-136 |
| Operator | British Airways |
| Tail number | G-AWND |
| Flight origin | London Heathrow Airport |
| Stopover | Kuwait International Airport |
| Destination | Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport |
British Airways Flight 149 was a flight between London Heathrow Airport and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, (the former international airport for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) operated by British Airways Boeing 747-136 G-AWND. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Kuwait City ( Arabic: مدينة الكويت Transliteration: Madīnat al-Kūwait) is the Capital and largest The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout British Airways plc ( is the national Airline and Flag carrier of the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe An aircraft registration is a unique Alphanumeric string that identifies an Aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile Kuwait International Airport is located in Farwaniya Kuwait, 16 kilometers (approximately 10 miles south of Kuwait City. Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, LTSAAS (formerly Subang International Airport) often called Subang Airport, is an Airport located in Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, LTSAAS (formerly Subang International Airport) often called Subang Airport, is an Airport located in Kuala Lumpur (ˈkwɑːləlʊmˈpʊər Malay /kwɑlɑlʊmpʊ/ and locally /kwɑləlʊmpɔ/ or even /kɔlɔmpɔ/ or often abbreviated as K For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and British Airways plc ( is the national Airline and Flag carrier of the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The flight never reached Kuala Lumpur after stopping for a scheduled refuelling at Kuwait International Airport, near Kuwait City, several hours after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on the night of August 1, 1990. Kuwait International Airport is located in Farwaniya Kuwait, 16 kilometers (approximately 10 miles south of Kuwait City. Kuwait City ( Arabic: مدينة الكويت Transliteration: Madīnat al-Kūwait) is the Capital and largest The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait which resulted Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The aircraft operating the flight, its passengers and crew, were captured by Iraqi forces and the passengers and crew held hostage. One passenger, a member of the Kuwaiti Royal Family, was killed by the Iraqis. The House of Al-Sabah (الصباح are the royal family of Kuwait. [1] The remaining passengers were later freed and the aircraft was destroyed. Allegations were raised that the airline deliberately had not diverted in order to insert British SAS troops into the country. The Special Air Service ( SAS) is a Special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model and inspiration for the special
Contents |
Background
The flight left London Heathrow Airport for Kuala Lumpur via Kuwait and Madras around 6. 15 p. m. on August 1, 1990. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) It had been delayed by, according to BA, a faulty air-conditioning unit. The flight's scheduled stop at Kuwait City was not changed, despite media reports of the worsening political situation in the region due to Iraqi demands for Kuwait to surrender territory. At 3. 00 a. m. on August 2, 1990, the flight landed at Kuwait International Airport, four hours after the Iraqi invasion began. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) After the passengers disembarked the aircraft, the airport was attacked, firstly by Iraqi fighter bomber aircraft, then overrun by tanks and soldiers by 7am. The passengers and crew of Flight 149 were detained.
Detention
After being detained, a flight attendant was reported to have been raped by the Iraqi soldiers. [1] Citizens of Western nations were taken from Kuwait to Baghdad where they were held as human shields alongside other Westerners in Kuwait at that time. Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous Eventually most of them were released by the Iraqis before the Gulf War began.
The aircraft itself was destroyed during the Gulf War, either by Allied bombing, or by the Iraqis themselves.
Investigation
Several court actions were raised by some of the passengers of the flight against British Airways for negligence in landing at Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion, and for loss of property. Conspiracy theories allege that the United Kingdom government transported intelligence agents or SAS troops to Kuwait aboard the flight, and otherwise it would not have landed in a potential war zone. However the UK government has denied this allegation.
On July 15, 1999, French passengers won damages from British Airways to the amount of £2. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. 5 million.
In a recent Discovery Channel documentary, the presence of at least 2 SAS intelligence officers aboard Flight 149 was confirmed. Also, the documentary revealed that the Thatcher administration was aware of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait 1 hour before Flight 149 was scheduled to land. However, the documentary does not explicitly accuse the administration of inserting the SAS soldiers using the flight.
After the aerial attacks by Iraqi aircraft, including orchestrated bomb runs near the airport terminal, most passengers were transferred to the airport transit hotel, within the airport building before Iraqi tanks and troops over-ran the airport, by Kuwaiti ground personnel.
The passengers were confined to various hotels in Kuwait also designated by the Iraqis for other foreigners to report to. These included the SAS and Regency Palace hotels.
Detainees were then bussed, with two or three police and armed soldiers as escorts, to Baghdad in a process that started within a few weeks of August 1. They were accommodated primarily on upper floors of the Melia Mansour Hotel, and transferred out to a variety of military and civilian locations as human shields. Western media were allowed to take pictures of the detainees swimming and playing tennis during one or two hours room breaks from the hotel.
See also
External links
- BBC News- "BA loses Iraq hostage appeal "
- BBC News - "UK hostages describe Kuwait ordeal (16/10/2006)"
- - "Last Flight to Kuwait"
- Pre-destruction photos of destroyed aircraft on Airliners.net
References
- ^ Last Flight to Kuwait, BBC Two, 19 March 2007. An aviation accident is defined in the International Civil Aviation Organization Annex 13 Airlinersnet is an Aviation website founded by Johan Lundgren in 1997 evolving from his previous Pictures of Modern Airliners site started in 1994
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