Trans World Airlines Flight 840, registration N54340, was a Boeing 727-231 flying en route from Rome's Fiumicino Airport to Athens. A bomb was detonated on the aircraft while it was over Argos, Greece, ejecting four American passengers (including a nine-month-old infant) to their deaths below. Five others on the aircraft were injured as the cabin suffered a rapid decompression. The remaining 110 passengers survived the incident as pilot Richard "...
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Trans World Airlines Flight 840, registration N54340, was a Boeing 727-231 flying en route from Rome's Fiumicino Airport to Athens. A bomb was detonated on the aircraft while it was over Argos, Greece, ejecting four American passengers (including a nine-month-old infant) to their deaths below. Five others on the aircraft were injured as the cabin suffered a rapid decompression. The remaining 110 passengers survived the incident as pilot Richard "Pete" Petersen made an emergency landing.
A group calling itself the Arab Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility, saying it was committed because of "American arrogance" and clashes with Libya in the Gulf of Sidra the week before. Investigators concluded that the bomb contained one pound of plastic explosive. It is suspected it had been placed under the seat cushion on a previous journey by a Lebanese woman (later arrested, never convicted) who worked for the Abu Nidal Organisation, which was opposed to the peace process.
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