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Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901

Occurrence summary
Date	July 19, 1994
Type	Airliner bombing
Site	near Colón, Panama
Passengers	18
Crew	3
Injuries	0
Fatalities	21
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
Operator	Alas Chiricanas
Tail number	HP-1202AC
Flight origin	Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport, Colón, Panama
Destination	Tocumen International Airport, Panama City, Panama

Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901, registry HP-1202AC, was an Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft which exploded shortly after departing Colón, Panama for Panama City on July 19, 1994. All 21 on board, including 12 Jews, were killed in the bombing. Both Panamanian and American authorities consider the bombing an unsolved crime and an act of terrorism.

The wreckage of the Bandeirante was strewn about the Santa Rita Mountains near Colón. Panamanian investigators quickly determined that the explosion had been caused by a bomb, probably detonated by a suicide bomber aboard the aircraft. Only one body was not claimed by relatives; this body is believed to be that of a man named Jamal Lya.^[1] Officials suspected that the incident was an act of terrorism directed against Jews in part because it took place one day after the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, Argentina which killed 85 people and which was also strongly suspected to be an act of terrorism against Jews.

Soon after Flight 00901 crashed, an organization using the name Ansar Allah, or "Followers of God", issued a statement expressing support for the bombing, and claiming that the attack was a suicide operation by a person with an Arab name. Later, it was determined the organization did not exist; many point to Hezbollah^{[citation needed]} as the culprit. Panamanian authorities have made no arrests in connection with the bombing; The case remains officially unsolved.

[edit] External links

• 10 years after Panama airline bomb, Jews are pained by lack of suspects
• Few clues, no certainty 10 years after Panama airline bombing killed 12 Jews
• Acquittals in Argentine terror case cast a shadow across Panama
• Argentine trials may shed light on Panama mystery, Eric Jackson, Panama News Online, 17 October 2001.
• "Seeking Information" page for Jamal Lya from the U. S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Criminal Occurrence description at the Aviation Safety Network

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (July 2009)

v • d • e ← 1993 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1994 1995→ Baikal Airlines crash (January 3) — 1994 Iranian Air Force C-130 shootdown (March 17) — March 23: Aeroflot Flight 593 and Green Ramp disaster — KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 (April 4) — FedEx Flight 705 (April 7) — Black Hawk shootdown incident (April 14) — China Airlines Flight 140 (April 26) — 1994 Scotland RAF Chinook crash (June 2) — China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 (June 6) — 1994 Fairchild Air Force Base B-52 crash (June 24) — A330 test flight crash (June 30) — USAir Flight 1016 (July 2) — Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901 (July 19) — USAir Flight 427 (September 8) — Frank Eugene Corder incident (September 12) — American Eagle Flight 4184 (October 31) - TWA Flight 427 (November 22) — Philippine Airlines Flight 434 (December 11) — Air Algérie Flight 702P (December 21) — Air France Flight 8969 (December 24) — Turkish Airlines Flight 278 (December 29) Bold indicates incidents resulting at least 50 deaths (current article is always in bold) Orange color indicates the deadliest incident in 1994

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