19/8/1980, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Less than 7mins after take-off, a Saudi Lockheed Tristar had not long settled into en-route climb when a cargo compartment smoke light illuminated, accompanied by aural warning.

The crew took nearly 4.5mins to decide that the warning was genuine. 78miles out, the Captain told Riyadh he was returning, with fire in cabin.


The rest of the story is hard to believe.


The Captain made little attempt to organize the emergency, focusing on flying the aircraft. When the flight attendants asked him for advice, saying that "The people are fighting in the aisle", he merely muttered to himself.

The First Officer, very junior, took almost no part.

While the Flight Engineer appeared to be totally confused!

When the aircraft landed, the Captain made no attempt at an emergency stop, but continues slowly down the runway, and turned on to a taxiway, leaving the engines running for some minutes. When they finally shut down, no attempt was made for evacuation.

The fire crew eventually found 287 passengers and 14 crews dead, apparently from breathing toxic fumes.