Aeronautical Mass Murder

Aeronautical mass murder can be defined as the deliberate destruction of civilian aircraft in an effort to cause the death of its passengers and/or those on the ground. Although the act is not necessarily novel, its study remains underdeveloped. The first proven case of aeronautical mass murder in commercial aviation took place on October 10, 1933, when a United Airlines Boeing 247 crashed en route from Cleveland to Chicago. All seven passengers and three crewmembers were killed when the twin-engine aircraft went down just west of Gary, Indiana. An investigation indicated that a blast from an explosive device, constructed of a timer and nitroglycerine, caused the aircraft's fuselage to separate from its tail assembly. It was believed that the bomb had been hidden aboard the aircraft in a brown package at a previous stop in Newark, New Jersey. The culprit and motive for the attack were never identified.

Since 1933, there have been more than 40 instances of aeronautical mass murder. The motivations for these crimes have been criminal (i.e., insurance fraud), idiosyncratic (i.e., psychological instability), and political (i.e., terrorism). The modus operandi include suicide skyjackings, surface-to-air attacks, and explosive devices. For example, in September 1949, a Douglas DC-3 operated by Quebec Airways slammed into a hill roughly 40 miles (65 km) north of Quebec, killing the 23 people onboard. The twin-engine aircraft had suffered an explosion in the forward luggage compartment. Police investigators determined that J. Albert Guay, whose wife was a passenger on the aircraft, had masterminded the plot to kill his spouse and collect on her $10,000 insurance policy. On May 7, 1964, Pacific Airlines Flight 773 crashed in Oakland on its way from Reno to San Francisco, killing the 44 people onboard. It was believed that the pilots of the Fairchild F-27A twin-engine turboprop were shot with a .357 Magnum wielded by Francisco Gonzales. Gonzales, who had been suffering from personal problems, had purchased the weapon a day before he left for Reno. He had also told acquaintances a week earlier of his desire to kill himself.

Terrorism is also a frequent motivation for aeronautical mass murder. The preferred method of terrorists has been to sabotage aircraft with explosive devices. Between 1947 and 1995, there were 105 attempted and successful bombing attacks on airliners, 85% of which were committed by terrorists. Terrorist organizations target passenger airliners for several reasons. For example, they offer a concentration of people in an enclosed environment that is especially susceptible to sabotage. Airliners also have a significant symbolic value. National carriers such as El Al, British Airways, Air France, American, United, and Air India are associated with particular countries. The following incidents are three of the most deadly cases of aeronautical mass murder committed by terrorists in recorded history. Although the three cases have similar motives, they demonstrate an escalated level of sophistication, commitment, and casualties.