THE HIJACKING CHRONOLOGY

Events in the hijacking of Kuwait Airways Flight 422:

Tuesday, April 5--The Boeing 747 with 112 people aboard, including three members of the Kuwaiti royal family, is hijacked by Arabic-speaking gunmen on a flight to Kuwait from Bangkok, Thailand, and diverted to Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

The hijackers demand freedom for 17 pro-Iranian extremists jailed in Kuwait for the 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French embassies. They threaten to blow up the plane if the demand is not met. Kuwait refuses. One passenger with a heart condition is released.

Wednesday, April 6--Kuwait sends a team to Iran to negotiate with the hijackers but vows not to yield. The hijackers release 24 women passengers and call a doctor on board to treat passengers they describe as “unwell.”

Thursday, April 7--The hijackers release 32 more hostages and again threaten to blow up the jet if security forces attempt “any threat against the plane.” Authorities give in to hijackers’ demands that the plane be refueled. The gunmen agree to give the prime ministers of Turkey and Pakistan until early Friday to negotiate with Kuwait.

Friday, April 8--The plane leaves Mashhad but is refused permission to land in Syria and Lebanon, despite pleas from the pilot who says the fuel tanks are nearly empty. After seven hours in the air, the plane lands in Cyprus.

Saturday, April 9--The hijackers kill a Kuwaiti security guard and toss his body onto the tarmac after their demands for more fuel are not met. The pilot reports that captives are being beaten. The Palestine Liberation Organization’s deputy director in Cyprus and two Cypriot officials talk with hijackers. The hijackers free another captive.

Sunday, April 10--Negotiations with PLO officials continue. The hijackers threaten a “slow and quiet massacre” if demands are not met. Gunmen rip the escape chutes from the plane, and a message from the cockpit says passengers are being hurt.

Monday, April 11--Hijackers announce they have killed a Kuwaiti security officer and toss a body onto the tarmac. A frightened passenger says via radio that the hijackers have threatened to shoot all the passengers if the plane is not refueled.

Tuesday, April 12--Twelve more hostages are freed and the refueled plane flies from Cyprus to Algiers.

Wednesday, April 13--Algerian officials begin negotiations aboard the plane. Government delegation arrives from Kuwait.

Thursday, April 14--The hijackers free an elderly hostage.

Friday, April 15--Two hostage passengers plead for their lives via radio. Algerian mediators shuttle between the plane and Kuwaiti officials.

Saturday, April 16--Hijackers ask Algeria to refuel the jet so they can fly to another country and kill their hostages.

Monday, April 18--Passenger Fadel al Sabah, a distant cousin of the emir of Kuwait, appeals to Kuwait to meet the hijackers’ demands.

Tuesday, April 19--Another royal cousin, Anware al Sabah, says she and the other hostages are “in danger” if the hijackers’ demands are not carried out.

Wednesday, April 20--The gunmen free their captives after saying, without elaboration, that Algeria has offered a solution to the ordeal. Officials say the plane will be returned to Kuwait.