Swissair Flight 330

Swissair Flight 330
	HB-ICD, the aircraft involved, seen in 1969
Bombing
Date	21 February 1970
Summary	Terrorist bombing causing loss of control
Site	2 km (1.3 mls) west off Würenlingen, Switzerland ; 47°32′11″N 8°14′23″E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Convair CV-990-30A-6 Coronado
Aircraft name	Baselland
Operator	Swissair
IATA flight No.	SR330
ICAO flight No.	SWR330
Call sign	SWISSAIR 330
Registration	HB-ICD
Flight origin	Zurich-Kloten Airport, Switzerland
Stopover	Tel Aviv-Lod International Airport, Israel
Destination	Kai Tak Airport, British Hong Kong
Occupants	47
Passengers	38
Crew	9
Fatalities	47
Survivors	0

Swissair Flight 330 (SR330/SWR330) was a regularly scheduled flight from Zurich Airport in Kloten, Switzerland, to Hong Kong with a planned stopover in Tel Aviv, Israel. A bomb planted by two members of the PLO exploded soon after takeoff, causing the plane to crash, killing all 47 passengers and crew.[1][2]

Investigation of the crash debris

Memorial near the crash site

History

On 21 February 1970 HB-ICD[3] a Convair CV-990 Coronado jet named "Baselland" was flying on the route with 38 passengers and nine crew members. A bomb detonated in the aft cargo compartment of the aircraft about nine minutes after take-off, during the ascent on a southerly course at approximately 12:15 UTC in the area of Lucerne north of the St. Gotthard Pass. The crew tried to turn the plane around and attempt an emergency landing at Zürich but had difficulty seeing the instruments due to smoke in the cockpit. The aircraft deviated more and more to the west and crashed a short time later in a wooded area at Würenlingen near Zürich, Switzerland, due to loss of electrical power. All aboard the aircraft were killed.

A Government air inspector was flown to the scene in a helicopter. He was followed shortly afterward by a team of 50 investigators. The police said that a woman handed in a 9-mm. pistol found at the scene of the crash immediately after the disaster. Some of the wreckage, including pieces of cloth, was strung out on the tops and branches of trees.

Sabotage was immediately suspected. A possible motive was revenge against Switzerland for three Palestinians who had been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by a Swiss court. Swiss news agencies said a splinter group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) had claimed responsibility, although other media reports said the group denied involvement.[4][5] The Swiss investigating judge, Robert Akeret, personally handed his 165-page report to the federal attorney-general, Hans Walder. According to this report, the bombing was committed by two members of the PLO. [6]

A barometric-triggered bomb had been used. On the same day, another bomb exploded aboard an Austrian Airlines Vienna-bound Caravelle after takeoff from Frankfurt. The Caravelle landed safely.

Air traffic control transcript

(Start of conversation with Zurich ATC. Note: conversation of the recording begins following the initial explosion.)

Swissair 330: Ah, 330 we have a problem with the cabin compression we have to return to Zurich.

Zurich ATC: Roger, what is your actual level?

Swissair 330: 140, Request return course.

Zurich ATC: Roger then make a, right turn Swissair 330.

Swissair 330: Zurich from Swissair 330, We suspect an explosion in the aft compartment of the aircraft, errr everything is ok at the moment. We request immediate descent and firefighting equipment on the ground...For landing.

Zurich ATC: Swissair 330 say again please?

Swissair 330: Ur Swissair 330 we request the police to, err.....investigate the incident.

Swissair 330: Zurich Swissair 330 we have fire on board....Request an immediate landing.

Swissair 330: This is an emergency Zurich from 330.

Swissair 330: Zurich, we have an electric control ur...Issues, 330, 330.

Zurich ATC: (unintelligible)

(Both ATC and pilot keyed microphones at the same time creating a small heterodyne.)

(Muffled voice from Swissair crew indicates either issues with the radio or the pilots speaking through their oxygen masks.)

Zurich ATC: Swissair 330, Swissair 330. I cannot read you anymore, I can not read you anymore, Please continue your heading uh 322—(sound of microphone squeal).

Zurich ATC: Swissair 330 ur—(unintelligible sound).

Swissair 330: Uh 330, can you give me my position now?

Zurich ATC: You are passing about 1000ft—(loud squeal) (unintelligible).

Zurich ATC: Roger 330, what is your heading now?

Swissair 330: Declaring an emergency! We have fire and smoke, I can't see anything!

Swissair 330: 330 is crashing!

Swissair 330: Goodbye everybody, Argh!.....goodbye everybody. (last transmission from aircraft)

Zurich ATC: Swissair 330, heading 080 please.

Zurich ATC: Swissair 330, please open your window please, Swissair 330 open your window please.

Zurich ATC: Swissair 330, I cannot read you anymore.

(End of recording).

A segment of the recording is publicly available on sites such as YouTube.

Postal history

As noted in Kibble (The Arab Israeli Conflict: No Service, Returned & Captured Mail, 2014)[7] - On 21 February 1970 Swissair Flight 330 left Zürich, Switzerland, bound for Tel Aviv, Israel. A bomb exploded in the rear cargo compartment nine minutes after take-off. The crew attempted to turn the plane around and undertake an emergency landing at Zürich, but it crashed a short time later in a wooded area at Würenlingen, near Zürich. A bomb with an altimeter trigger was placed in a package mailed to an Israeli address by Palestinian extremists. All 47 persons on board (38 passengers and 9 crew) were killed. A small amount of mail was recovered from the crash and is highly prized by collectors of crash mail.

A black instructional marking in French was applied to any mail that survived the crash, which translated reads:[7]

Correspondence is from "Coronado" that fell at Würenlingen. Zürich 58 Post Office

The Coronado bombing saw a change in mailing practices across the globe. In particular, mail sent or routed to Israel through the UK, Italy, and the USA was required to be sent by surface mail in the immediate future. Airmail to Israel was no longer permitted.[7]

A report from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency titled Airmail from Europe Fails to Arrive in Israel Despite Assurances It Would from 25 February 1970 states the following:[7][8]

No airmail from Europe arrived in Israel today despite assurances from several airlines that deliveries would continue. At least a dozen international carriers suspended mail and cargo services to Israel following last Saturday's fatal crash of a Swissair jet. The airlines said the measure was temporary, and several announced yesterday that they were rescinding the ban. But planes of the West German Lufthansa, the British BEA, and Swissair landed at Lydda Airport today minus their mail bags. The captain of the Swissair flight refused to take outgoing mail but agreed when informed by postal authorities that he was acting contrary to his company's instructions. Israel made strong representations to the International Postal Union yesterday against any delays in foreign mail deliveries.

References

"Terrorist Incidents against Jewish Communities and Israeli Citizens Abroad, 1968-2003". International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. 20 December 2003. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
Rubin, Barry; Rubin, Judith Colp (2015). Chronologies of Modern Terrorism. Routledge. p. 186. ISBN 9781317474654.
"Aviation Photo #0108667: Convair 990A Coronado (30A-6) - Swissair". Airliners.net. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
swissinfo.ch. "'Goodbye everybody': the Swissair 330 disaster". SWI swissinfo.ch.
"The New York Times," February 22, 1970
swissinfo.ch. "'Goodbye everybody': the Swissair 330 disaster". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
Kibble, Daryl R. (2014). The Arab-Israeli Conflict: No Service, Returned and Captured Mail. Perth: Vivid Publishing. pp. 299–306. ISBN 978-1-925086-58-4.
"⁨Halt Airmail From Europe To Israel; Terrorism Is Probed". The Sentinel⁩. 5 March 1970. Retrieved 2021-06-28 – via National Library of Israel.

External links

flight 330 report
(in German) Huber, Daniel. "«We are crashing - goodbye everybody»." 20 Minuten. 19 February 2010
Video of the crash site from Associated Press Archive

Media related to Swissair Flight 330 at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Terrorist Incidents against Jewish Communities and Israeli Citizens Abroad, 1968-2003". International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. 20 December 2003. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2018.

[2] Rubin, Barry; Rubin, Judith Colp (2015). Chronologies of Modern Terrorism. Routledge. p. 186. ISBN 9781317474654.

[3] "Aviation Photo #0108667: Convair 990A Coronado (30A-6) - Swissair". Airliners.net. Retrieved 11 May 2018.

[4] swissinfo.ch. "'Goodbye everybody': the Swissair 330 disaster". SWI swissinfo.ch.

[5] "The New York Times," February 22, 1970

[6] swissinfo.ch. "'Goodbye everybody': the Swissair 330 disaster". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

[auto-7] Kibble, Daryl R. (2014). The Arab-Israeli Conflict: No Service, Returned and Captured Mail. Perth: Vivid Publishing. pp. 299–306. ISBN 978-1-925086-58-4.

[Sentinel-8] "⁨Halt Airmail From Europe To Israel; Terrorism Is Probed". The Sentinel⁩. 5 March 1970. Retrieved 2021-06-28 – via National Library of Israel.

Prominent terrorist attacks against Israelis in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict – the 1970s
1970	Munich bus attack (February 10) Swissair Flight 330 attack (February 21) Avivim school bus massacre (May 22) Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijacking (July 22) Dawson's Field hijackings (September 6-13)
1971	Murder of the Aroyo children (January 2)
1972	Lufthansa Flight 649 (February 22–23) Sabena Flight 571 (May 8) Lod Airport massacre (May 30) Munich massacre (5–6 September) Killing of Ami Shachori (18 September) Lufthansa Flight 615 (October 29) Bangkok Israeli embassy hostage crisis (December 28)
1973	Assassination of the Israeli attache in Washington (July 1) Schoenau ultimatum (September 28–29) Rome airport attacks and hijacking (December 17–18)
1974	Kiryat Shmona massacre (April 11) Ma'alot massacre (May 15) Nahariya attack (24–25 June) TWA Flight 841 bombing (September 8) Paris café attack (September 15) Beit She'an attack (November 19)
1975	Orly Airport attacks (January 13 and 19) Savoy Hotel Attack (March 6) Kfar Yuval hostage crisis (June 15) Zion Square refrigerator bombing (July 4) Zion Square ice cream shop bombing (November 13)
1976	Hijacking of Air France Flight 139 (June 27) Yeşilköy airport attack (August 11)
1977	Lufthansa Flight 181 (October 13–18)
1978	Coastal Road massacre (March 11) ‡ Orly Airport attack (May 20) London bus attack (August 20)
1979	Ma'alot attack (January 13) Nahariya massacre (April 22)
Attacks launched from the West Bank Attacks launched from the Gaza Strip Attacks launched from Lebanon Attacks launched from Jordan ‡ indicates the terrorist attack which caused the greatest amount of Israeli casualties during the 1970s List of projectile attacks from Lebanon on Israel and the Golan Heights 1960s 1980s

Prominent Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1970s
Within Israel	Avivim school bus massacre^* (May 22, 1970) Lod Airport massacre (May 30, 1972) Kiryat Shmona massacre^* (April 11, 1974) Ma'alot massacre^* (May 15, 1974) Nahariya attack^* (June 24–25, 1974) Beit She'an attack (November 19, 1974) Savoy Hotel Attack^* (March 6, 1975) Kfar Yuval hostage crisis^* (June 15, 1975) Zion Square refrigerator bombing (July 4, 1975) Coastal Road massacre^* (March 11, 1978) Nahariya massacre^* (April 22, 1979)
Within the Gaza Strip	Murder of the Aroyo children (January 2, 1971)
Aircraft attacks and hijackings	Swissair Flight 330 (February 21, 1970) Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijacking (July 22, 1970) Dawson's Field hijackings (September 6-13, 1970) Lufthansa Flight 649 (February 22–23, 1972) Sabena Flight 571 (May 8, 1972) Lufthansa Flight 615 (October 29, 1972) Rome airport attacks and hijacking (December 17–18, 1973) TWA Flight 841 (September 8, 1974) Air France Flight 139 (June 27, 1976) Lufthansa Flight 181 (October 13–18, 1977)
Worldwide	Munich massacre (September 5–6, 1972) Israeli Bangkok embassy hostage crisis (December 28, 1972) Assassination of the Israeli attache in Washington (July 1, 1973) Schoenau ultimatum (September 28–29, 1973) Paris café attack (September 15, 1974) Orly Airport attacks (January, 1975) OPEC siege (December 21, 1975) Yeşilköy airport attack (August 11, 1976) Orly Airport attack (May 20, 1978) London bus attack (August 20, 1978)
^* Attacks launched from Lebanon 1960s 1980s