Summary Terrorist bombing Crew 10 Injuries (non-fatal) 16 Number of deaths 1 Location Pacific Ocean | Passengers 264 Fatalities 1 Date 11 August 1982 Survivor 273 | |
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Site Pacific Ocean, Northwest of Hawaii Destination Los Angeles International Airport Operator Pan American World Airways Similar World Airways Flight 30, CAAC Flight 2311, 1982 Aerocondor DHC‑4 C, 1982 TABA Fairchild FH‑227 a, 1982 Garuda Fokker F2 | ||
Pan Am Flight 830 was a flight from Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii. On August 11, 1982, the Boeing 747-121 serving the flight, nicknamed "Clipper Ocean Rover" was en route to Hawaii when the airplane was damaged by a bomb that had been placed on board. Despite the damage to the aircraft, Captain James E. (Skipper) O'Halloran III was able to land in Honolulu safely.
At the time of the explosion, the aircraft was approximately 225 kilometers northwest of Hawaii, cruising at 36,000 feet (11,000 m) with 270 passengers and 15 crew on board. The bomb, which had been placed under a seat cushion, killed 16-year-old Toru Ozawa, a Japanese national. The blast also injured 16 other people (including Ozawa's parents) and caused damage to the floor and ceiling. The aircraft remained airborne and made an emergency landing in Honolulu.
The bomb was placed by Mohammed Rashed, a Jordanian linked to the 15 May Organization. In 1988, he was arrested in Greece, tried, convicted of murder and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He was paroled in 1996 after serving eight years. He was later extradited to the US from Egypt in 1998 to stand trial. In 2006, as part of a plea bargain agreement he was sentenced to a further seven years in federal prison. As per his agreement with US prosecutors in providing information about other terrorist plots he was released from prison in March 2013 but as of March 2014 still remained in a federal immigration detention facility in upstate New York awaiting deportation.
Abu Ibrahim was also indicted in the bombing of Pam Am Flight 830 and in 2009 was placed on the FBI's most wanted list. On November 24, 2009, the Department of State announced that it was offering a reward of up to $5M for Abu Ibrahim, now about 73 years old. The previous reward of $200,000 had produced no results.
The aircraft was later put back in service by Pan American World Airways and remained in operation for various carriers through the early 1990s. It served as a prop for the 1996 film Executive Decision for the fictional Oceanic Airlines.