Gulf Air Flight 771
Boeing 737-2P6 · Terrorist bombing
From Jinnah International Airport (KHI) to Bahrain
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 112 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 112
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Boeing 737-2P6
- Flight
- GF771
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 737
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- A4O-BK
- Operator
- Gulf Air
- Onboard fatalities
- 112
- Route
- From Jinnah International Airport (KHI)To Bahrain
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
Gulf Air Flight 771 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan, to Abu Dhabi International Airport, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. On 23 September 1983, while the Boeing 737-200 was on approach, a bomb, planted by the Iraqi-based Palestinian nationalist militant group, Abu Nidal Organization, exploded in the baggage compartment, resulting in a fire. The aircraft crashed in the desert near Jebel Ali between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. All 105 passengers and 7 crew members died. To date, it is the deadliest air disaster in the history of the United Arab Emirates, along with Sterling Airways Flight 296 which also had 112 fatalities in 1972.
Bombing
On 23 September 1983, while on approach to Abu Dhabi, the aircraft experienced an explosive detonation in the baggage compartment. The aircraft did not break up mid-air, but a fire broke out immediately afterwards and the passengers are believed to have been killed instantly by asphyxiation. As a result, the aircraft crashed into the desert near Jebel Ali, about 45 km northeast of Abu Dhabi. All 112 people on board, including 7 crew members and 105 passengers, were killed in the bombing.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The report was revealed in September 1987 by British politician Sir Dudley Smith, under pressure from the parents of Lyn Farthing, one of the two British flight attendants who perished in the crash.
The report included a description of the last moments in the cockpit, including a description of Omani Captain Saoud Al Kindy praying as the plane nose-dived into the desert. The report mentioned that everything on board the flight was perfectly normal and voice transcripts showed the crew chatting among themselves. One asked the other if he was on duty the next day, to which he replied "No, I've got a day off tomorrow". That was followed by a sudden interruption and the recording showed the pilots making a frantic attempt to control the plane.
The report indicated a bomb in the baggage hold as the primary cause of the accident, due to the following factors:
A passenger who checked in baggage at Karachi but never boarded the plane.
The nature of injuries to passengers who were seated above the baggage hold.
A sudden interruption to an otherwise normally operating flight.
Data obtained from the aircraft's flight data recorder.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Gulf Air Flight 771” (revision 1363394058, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Gulf Air Flight 771
- Article
- Gulf Air Flight 771
- Revision
- 1363394058 · 2026-07-09 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q2335758
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Gulf Air Flight 771" (page 467772, revision 1363394058)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- airline flight number in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.