Air France Flight 8969
Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The terrorists murdered three passengers and their intention was either to detonate the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), a counter-terror unit of the French National Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers.
F-GBEC, the aircraft involved in the hijacking | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 24–26 December 1994 (2 days) |
| Summary | Hijacking by Armed Islamic Group of Algeria |
| Site | 24–25 December: Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria 26 December: Marseille Provence Airport, Marseille, France 43°26′23″N 5°12′54″E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A300B2-1C (c/n 104) |
| Operator | Air France |
| IATA flight No. | AF8969 |
| ICAO flight No. | AFR8969 |
| Call sign | AIR FRANS 8969 |
| Registration | F-GBEC |
| Flight origin | Houari Boumedienne Airport |
| Destination | Paris–Orly Airport |
| Occupants | 236 (including 4 hijackers) |
| Passengers | 224 (including 4 hijackers) |
| Crew | 12 |
| Fatalities | 7 (3 passengers, all 4 hijackers) |
| Injuries | 25 (13 passengers, 3 crew, 9 GIGN) |
| Survivors | 229 |
The incident led to Air France halting their flights to Algeria until 2004, two years after the end of the Algerian Civil War.
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