Lufthansa Flight 181, a Boeing 737-200 jet airliner named Landshut, was hijacked on 13 October 1977 by four militants of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine while en route from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to Frankfurt am Main, West Germany. The hijacking aimed to secure the release of eleven notorious Red Army Faction leaders held in West German prisons and two Palestinians held in Turkey. This event was part of the so-called German Autumn, intended to increase pressure on the West German government. The hijackers diverted the flight to several locations before ending in Mogadishu, Somalia, where the crisis concluded in the early morning hours of 18 October 1977 under the cover of darkness. The West German counter-terrorism unit GSG 9, with ground support from the Somali Armed Forces, stormed the aircraft, rescuing all 87 passengers and four crew members. The captain of the flight was killed by the hijackers earlier in the ordeal.
The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu. The remaining hostages are later rescued.
On October 17, in the year 1977, The hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu. The remaining hostages are later rescued. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of October 17, one of 597 recorded events on this date across all of history.
Key Facts
- This event took place on October 17, 1977 (AD era).
- It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
- Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
- Wikipedia source last updated on 11 September 2026.
On This Date in History 597
This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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