2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident
2003 attack by Iraqi insurgents near Baghdad International Airport / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On 22 November 2003, shortly after takeoff from Baghdad, Iraq, an Airbus A300B2-200F cargo plane, registered OO-DLL and owned by the Belgian division of European Air Transport (doing business as DHL Express), was struck on the left wing by a surface-to-air missile while on a scheduled flight to Muharraq, Bahrain.[1] Severe wing damage resulted in a fire and complete loss of hydraulic flight control systems. Because outboard left wing fuel tank 1A was full at takeoff, no fuel-air vapour explosion occurred. Liquid jet fuel dropped away as 1A disintegrated. Inboard fuel tank 1 was pierced and leaking.[2]
Attempted shootdown | |
---|---|
Date | 22 November 2003 (2003-11-22) |
Summary | Missile attack leading to loss of hydraulics |
Site | Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Airbus A300B4-203F |
Operator | European Air Transport as the DHL Express |
Registration | OO-DLL |
Flight origin | Baghdad International Airport Baghdad, Iraq |
Destination | Bahrain International Airport Muharraq, Bahrain |
Occupants | 3 |
Crew | 3 |
Fatalities | 0 |
Injuries | 1 |
Survivors | 3 (all) |
Returning to Baghdad, the three-man crew made an injury-free landing of the seriously damaged A300, using differential engine thrust as the only pilot input. This was despite major damage to a wing, total loss of hydraulic control, a faster-than-safe landing speed, and a ground path that veered off the runway surface and onto unprepared ground.[3]
Paris Match reporter Claudine Vernier-Palliez accompanied a disbanded Fedayeen unit on their strike mission against the EAT aircraft.[4]
Sara Daniel, a French weekly newsmagazine journalist, claimed receipt, from an unknown source, of a video that showed Iraqi insurgents (belonging to IAI), faces concealed, firing a missile at the EAT A300.[5][6][7] Daniel was researching a feature about Iraqi resistance groups, but she denied any specific knowledge of the people who carried out the attack, despite being present at the moment of attack.[6]