Malaysia Airlines Flight 653

Malaysia Airlines Flight 653

Hijacking summary
Date	4 December 1977
Type	Hijacking, unsolved crash
Site	Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia
Passengers	93
Crew	7
Injuries	0
Fatalities	100 (all)
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-2H6
Operator	Malaysia Airlines
Tail number	9M-MBD
Flight origin	Penang International Airport
Last stopover	Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport
Destination	Singapore International Airport (Paya Lebar)

Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 (MH653), a Boeing 737-2H6 aircraft registered as 9M-MBD (delivered September 1972 as 9M-AQO), crashed at Tanjung Kupang, Johor, in Malaysia on the evening of 4 December 1977.^[1] It was the deadliest and first fatal accident for Malaysia Airlines, with all 93 passengers and 7 crew killed instantly.^[2][3] The flight was apparently hijacked as soon as it reached cruise altitude. The circumstances in which the hijacking and subsequent crash occurred remain unsolved.

Flight number

Currently, Malaysia Airlines uses flight 653 as a flight from Penang to Singapore which operates daily, departs 13:15 and arrives at 14:35. The opposite is flight 652 as a flight from Singapore to Penang which operates daily, departs 11:05 and arrives at 12:25.

Sequence of events

Flight MH653 departed Penang's Runway 22 at exactly 19:21 hours for Kuala Lumpur's Subang Airport (now known as Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport).^[4] Passengers included the Malaysian Agricultural Minister, Dato' Ali Haji Ahmad; Public Works Department Head, Dato' Mahfuz Khalid; and Cuban Ambassador to Japan, Mario García.^[1][5] The pilot in command was Captain G.K. Ganjoor.

Nationality [6]	Fatalities
Malaysia	73
United Kingdom	5
West Germany	4
Australia	3
India	3
Indonesia	3
Cuba	2
Afghanistan	1
Canada	1
Japan	1
Greece	1
Singapore	1
Thailand	1
United States	1
Total	100

At approximately 19:54 hours, while at an altitude of 4,000 feet over Batu Arang and descending toward Subang's Runway 33, captain G.K. Ganjoor reported an "unidentified hijacker" onboard to Subang Tower. The tower immediately notified the authorities, who made emergency preparations at the airport.

A few minutes later, however, Captain Ganjoor radioed: "We're now proceeding to Singapore...". Flight MH653 never touched down at Singapore.^[7]

The cockpit voice recordings indicate noises suggestive of the cockpit door being broken in, along with a reasonable amount of screaming and cursing. No noises are heard from within the cockpit to indicate any of the three occupants were conscious. The autopilot was then disconnected, possibly due to a pitch input by someone entering the cockpit and trying to control the aircraft. An investigator speculated that someone pulled back on the column, causing a pitch up, followed by an oscillation. This rapidly developed into a high amplitude phugoid oscillation that resulted in a rapid dive.

At 20:15 hours, all communication with flight MH653 was lost.

At 20:36 hours, the residents of Kampong Ladang, Tanjong Kupang in Johor reported hearing explosions and seeing burning wreckage in a swamp. The wreckage was later identified as Flight MH653. The plane hit the ground at a near-vertical angle at a very high speed. There were no survivors and not one recognizable body was found.

Aftermath

Some speculate that the Japanese Red Army was responsible for the hijacking, although no further evidence to support this hypothesis has come forward.^[8]

All recovered remains were x-rayed in an attempt to discover evidence of a projectile or weapon. No weapon or bullet was ever found. The remains of the victims were interred in a mass burial.^[9]

Memorial

The memorial site is situated at Jalan Kebun Teh, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.^[5] It is known as Tanjung Kupang Memorial. It was erected by the Johor state government on 8 December 1977, 4 days after the incident.

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Notable references

• A Malay language novel used in secondary schools in Malaysia called Tragedi Empat Disember ("The Tragedy of December 4"), written by Dzul Karnain Ithnin, is a story about a plane crash in Tanjung Pangku (as opposed to Tanjung Kupang), with obvious references to the real disaster.

See also

	Malaysia portal
	Aviation portal

• D. B. Cooper, another one of the few cases of unsolved hijacking in the world

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "A hijacked Malaysian airlines jet with 100 persons aboard exploded and crashed Sunday night". Associated Press. 1977-12-04. 
2. ^ "Malaysia Airlines flight crashes with 50 on board". Agence France Presse. 1995-09-15. 
3. ^ "Worst MAS plane crash occurred in 1977". New Straits Times: p. 4. 1995-09-15. 
4. ^ "328 killed in nine incidents". New Straits Times: p. 4. 1996-09-01. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Memorial tells a sad tale of neglect". Business Times. 2000-01-15. 
6. ^ "Names list on the Tanjung Kupang Memorial plaque"
7. ^ Dennis, William (2000-01-04). "Asian Rebound Boosts Startups, But Safely Remains A Concert [sic]". Aviation Daily. 
8. ^ Ethiopia mourns crash victims. CNN, 25 November 1996 (see last paragraph).
9. ^ "Mass burial planned for unidentified victims". New Straits Times. 1995-09-18. p. 7.