American Airlines Flight 444

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American Airlines Flight 444

An American Airlines Boeing 727-223 identical to the one involved in the incident.
Occurrence
Date	November 15, 1979
Summary	Bombing (attempted)
Site	near Washington Dulles International Airport 38°57′11″N 77°27′00″W / 38.953°N 77.450°W / 38.953; -77.450Coordinates: 38°57′11″N 77°27′00″W / 38.953°N 77.450°W / 38.953; -77.450
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-223
Operator	American Airlines
Registration	Unknown
Flight origin	Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Destination	Washington National Airport
Occupants	78
Passengers	72
Crew	6
Fatalities	0
Injuries	12
Survivors	78 (all)

American Airlines Flight 444 was a scheduled American Airlines flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C.'s National Airport. On November 15, 1979, the Boeing 727 serving the flight was attacked by "the Unabomber", Ted Kaczynski, who placed a bomb on board. The bomb, planted in the cargo hold, caused "a sucking explosion and a loss of pressure," which was then followed by large quantities of smoke filling the passenger cabin, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport.^[1][2][3] Twelve passengers had to be treated afterward for smoke inhalation.^[2] It was later determined^{[by whom?]} that the bomb was powerful enough to have destroyed the aircraft if it had worked correctly.^{[citation needed]}

This was not the first Unabomber attack, but it led to the FBI investigation into the Unabomber as airliner bombing is a federal crime.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

External links[]

• Non-hull loss description at the Aviation Safety Network