MEA (Middle East Airlines) Boeing 720 (Middle East Airlines Flight 438)
Flight ME438 was an international passenger flight from Beirut, Lebanon to Muscat, Oman, with a stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With 15 crew members and 66 passengers (other sources stated that there were 67 passengers) on board, flight 438 departed from Beirut. In the predawn twilight, the airliner was en route from Beirut to Dubai when at 05:30, 1 hour and 40 minutes after departure, a bomb exploded in the front section of the cargo hold. The aircraft broke up at an altitude of 11,300 metres (37,100 ft) and crashed 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia. The crash was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Saudi Arabia at the time, and is now the sixth-deadliest. It is also the second-deadliest aviation disaster involving the Boeing 720, behind Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705.
According to several reports, the bomb was planted on board by Omani militants. The bomb timer was set so that the bomb would explode after landing at Muscat airport. Killing the passengers was not the goal of the militants. Flight 438 was originally going to be operated by a Boeing 747, but a technical malfunction was discovered, requiring a Boeing 720 to be used instead. Boarding and baggage loading delayed the flight, causing the bomb to explode early while the aircraft was still cruising.
Specifications
Spotlights
- VietnamAirlinesFlight474 7 months ago
General Characteristics
- Successors 1 airplane(s)
- Created On Windows
- Wingspan 140.2ft (42.7m)
- Length 144.4ft (44.0m)
- Height 42.1ft (12.8m)
- Empty Weight 51,790lbs (23,491kg)
- Loaded Weight 180,771lbs (81,996kg)
Performance
- Power/Weight Ratio 0.447
- Wing Loading 38.3lbs/ft2 (187.1kg/m2)
- Wing Area 4,716.9ft2 (438.2m2)
- Drag Points 64385
Parts
- Number of Parts 356
- Control Surfaces 7
- Performance Cost 1,628