When three desperate men seize control of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, demanding to be taken to Australia, they set in motion a chain of events that will test the limits of human endurance and pilot skill. With insufficient fuel for their impossible journey, Captain Leul Abate faces an unthinkable choice: comply with the hijackers' demands and crash into the ocean, or risk everything in a desperate gamble to save his passengers. Join Alice and Zach as they explore this harrowing true story of hijacking, heroism, and one of aviation's most dramatic water landings ever captured on film—a crash witnessed by beach tourists who had no idea they were filming one of the deadliest hijackings in history.

Sources:

• Mayday: Air Disasters - Season 3, Episode 13, "Hijack!"
• Official Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 Accident Investigation Report
• "Ethiopian jet hijack ends in disaster" - BBC News, November 23, 1996
• "The Hijacking and Ditching of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961" - Admiral Cloudberg on Medium
• Contemporary news coverage from Associated Press and Reuters
• Survivor testimonies from Michael Adeno and Frank Huddle

Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:

• Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.com
• Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPod
• Facebook: Final Boarding Call

Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.