Air Vietnam Flight 706 was a

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

that crashed on September 15, 1974, near

Phan Rang Air Base Phan Rang Air Base (also called Thành Sơn Air Base) is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Khong Quan Nhan Dan Viet Nam)'' military airfield in Vietnam. It is located north-northwest of Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm in Ninh Thuận Provi ...

in South Vietnam.

Hijack

Le Duc Tan, a ranger in the South Vietnamese army who had recently been demoted from captain to lieutenant for the theft of two cars in

Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...

, smooth-talked his way past security checkpoints. After taking off from

Da Nang International Airport Da Nang International Airport is located in Da Nang, the largest city in central Vietnam. It is the third international airport in the country, besides Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) and Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh ...

(DAD/VVDN) in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

on a regularly scheduled flight to

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Tan Son Nhat International Airport Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport ( vi, Sân bay quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất or Cảng hàng không quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất) is the busiest airport in Vietnam with 32.5 million passengers in 2016 and 38.5 million passengers in 2018 ...

(SGN/VVTS), the flight was

hijacked Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...

by Tan, holding two grenades. He demanded to be flown to

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

. For unknown reasons the pilots approached the airfield at

but aborted the landing.

Crash

The aircraft overshot the

base leg An airfield traffic pattern is a standard path followed by aircraft when takeoff, taking off or landing while maintaining visual contact with the airfield. At an airport, the pattern (or circuit) is a standard path for coordinating air traffic co ...

and initiated a left turn, during which it lost control. Shortly after that, it plunged to the ground from an altitude of , killing all 75 people aboard.

Cause

Even though the exact cause remains unclear, it has been speculated that the hijacker caused the crash by setting off his grenades after the pilots refused to give in to his demands.

References

External links

* Airliner accidents and incidents caused by hijacking Aviation accidents and incidents in 1974 Aviation accidents and incidents in Vietnam Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 727 Air Vietnam accidents and incidents 1974 crimes in Vietnam Terrorist incidents in Asia in 1974 Mass murder in 1974 Terrorist incidents in Vietnam September 1974 events in Asia 1970s murders in Vietnam 1974 murders in Asia {{Vietnam-transport-stub