Middle East Airlines Flight 438

Middle East Airlines Flight 438

A Boeing 720-023B of MEA, sister-ship to the accident aircraft
Bombing summary
Date	1 January 1976
Summary	Terrorist bombing
Site	37 km (23 mi) NW of Al Qaysumah, Saudi Arabia
Passengers	66
Crew	15
Fatalities	81 (all)
Injuries (non-fatal)	0
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 720-023B
Operator	Middle East Airlines
Registration	OD-AFT
Flight origin	Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport
Destination	Abu Dhabi International Airport

Coordinates: 28°38′0″N 45°47′0″E / 28.63333°N 45.78333°E

Middle East Airlines Flight 438 a Boeing 720B, callsign CEDAR JET 438, was en route from Beirut to Abu Dhabi on 1 January 1976 when a bomb exploded in the forward cargo compartment. The aircraft broke up at an altitude of 11,300 metres (37,100 ft) and crashed 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Al Qaysumah, Saudi Arabia, killing all of its 81 passengers and crew. The bombers were never identified. Lebanon was going through a civil war at the time and the bombing is most likely connected in some way to this war.

References

• Criminal Occurrence description at the Aviation Safety Network
• UK CAA Document CAA 429 World Airline Accident Summary (ICAO Summary 4/76)