Thai Airways International Flight 620
Thai Airways International Flight 620 was a scheduled Thai Airways International passenger flight from Bangkok to Osaka via Manila. On 26October 1986, the Airbus A300B4-601 aircraft, which originated in Bangkok, suffered an explosion mid-flight. The aircraft was later repaired and there were no fatalities. The cause was a hand grenade brought onto the plane by a Japanese gangster of the Yamaguchi-gumi. 109 of the 239 people on board were injured. The aircraft descended rapidly and was able to land safely at Osaka.
Incident
At around 8:00p.m. on 26October 1986, Thai Airways International Flight 620 was cruising above Tosa Bay off the coast of Kochi Prefecture, carrying 14 crews and 233 passengers, when the rear of the aircraft suddenly suffered an explosion, resulting in rapid decompression and damage to the rear pressure bulkhead, severing two of the three hydraulic pipes. As a result, the aircraft veered off course for about 100 kilometers and into restricted air space of the Japan Air Self Defense Force, as well as going into a dutch roll at one point, but the aircraft managed to make an emergency landing at Osaka Itami Airport at 8:40p.m.As a result of the explosion and the aircraft's violent turbulence, a total of 109 passengers and crew suffered injuries, with 14 of them suffering severe injuries.
Investigation
Initially, it was believed that, like Japan Air Lines Flight 123 a year before, some sort of a mechanical problem was to blame for the incident. While the aircraft was delivered less than three weeks before the incident, the pressurization devices were having issues in the week leading up to the incident, with reports being made that warning lights were turning on.However, it was quickly revealed after the aircraft was examined by the that the explosion was caused by some sort of an explosive that was brought in, rather than the aircraft itself. Ultimately, a 43-year-old of the Yamaguchi-gumi admitted to smuggling the hand grenade into the aircraft. The stated that he "accidentally pulled the safety pin off in the toilet that was at the rear left area of the toilet" and that "he tried to put the pin back in, but it didn't work, so he left it behind in the toilet and let it blow up".
Aftermath
The who brought in the hand grenade was not arrested until after he was discharged from the hospital, because the man had suffered severe burns all over his body as oil from a broken hydraulic pipe poured over him during the incident.The aircraft involved, HS-TAE, was delivered less than three weeks before the incident on October 9.