UTA Flight 772
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 19, 1989 |
| Type | Terrorist Bomb |
| Site | Sahara Desert |
| Fatalities | 171 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 |
| Operator | Union des Transports Aériens (UTA) |
| Tail number | N54629 |
| Passengers | 156 |
| Crew | 15 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Union des Transports Aériens Flight 772 was a flight of a French airline which was scheduled to fly from the former Congo-Brazzaville, to N'Djamena in Chad, and then to Charles De Gaulle International Airport near Paris.
On September 19, 1989, N54629, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 on the route, broke up over the Sahara Desert near the town of Bilma and the town of Ténéré, Niger, when a bomb in the forward cargo hold exploded. A total of 171 people on board were killed, leaving no survivors.
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[edit] Trial in absentia
Abdullah Sanussi, the brother-in-law of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and five other Libyans were put on trial in absentia for the bombing of UTA Flight 772. In 2003, Libya admitted responsibility and agreed to pay compensation to the families of the victims.[citation needed]
The motive is usually assumed to be of revenge on the French for supporting Chad against the expansionist projects of Libya toward Chad. This support was considered as neo-colonialist by Libya.
[edit] Compensation claim
Sixteen years to the day after the bombing, a federal court in Washington was asked by the families of seven American victims to rule that the Libyan government and six of its agents were guilty of the September 19, 1989 destruction of UTA Flight 772. Damages of more than $2 billion were claimed for the loss of life and the destruction of the DC-10 jumbo jet.[1]
[edit] Earlier attack
Although it has never been admitted by Libya, the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988 is assumed to be in revenge for the US Bombing of Tripoli in April 1986.
[edit] Popular references
- The song Le grand frère by French artist Adb al-Malik is about one of the victims of flight UT772
[edit] External links
- UTA 772: The Forgotten Flight (BBC)
- The French Military Role in Chad
- Compensation claim by American relatives
[edit] See also
- List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
- Pan Am Flight 103
- Alternative theories into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
