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Iraqi Insurgents Attempt to Bring Down DHL Cargo Plane
Published 3 years ago
Footage mailed to French Weekly Journalist, Sara Daniel, shows the moment a group of Iraqi Insurgents try to bring down a DHL owned A300 aircraft just moments after its takeoff from Baghdad International.
If you're not familiar with this incident, here's a bit of background information. On November 22, 2003, a DHL A300 cargo aircraft left the Baghdad International Airport en-route to the Bahrain International Airport. Shortly after takeoff, the flight was hit by a surface-to-air missile launched by Iraqi Insurgents in the outskirts of Baghdad. The left wing was damaged by the missile, and the three-man crew was forced to turn around and head back to Baghdad International to make an emergency landing.
38-year-old Captain Éric Gennotte and 29-year-old First Officer Steeve Michielsen, and 54-year-old flight engineer Mario Rofail were in mortal danger as they made their way back towards Baghdad International with an A300 that had suffered severe damage to its left wing, and a total hydraulics system failure. Fortunately, Gennotte, Michielsen, and Rofail were all extremely talented and experienced, with each man having well over 1,000 hours in the air just in that specific airframe. As a result of their skill, they were able to safely land the plane at BIA with zero casualties.
