Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554

Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554

B-3171, the aircraft involved in the hijacking
Incident
Date	29 June 2012 (2012-06-29)
Summary	Attempted hijacking
Site	En route shortly after departure from Hotan Airport, China
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Embraer E190
Operator	Tianjin Airlines
IATA flight No.	GS7554
ICAO flight No.	GCR7554
Call sign	BOHAI 7554
Registration	B-3171
Flight origin	Hotan Airport, China
Destination	Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport, China
Occupants	101
Passengers	92 (including 6 hijackers)
Crew	9
Fatalities	2 (hijackers)
Injuries	13 (including 2 hijackers)
Survivors	99

Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Hotan and Ürümqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region.^[1] On 29 June 2012, an Embraer E190 operating the flight, took off from Hotan at 12:25 pm; within ten minutes, six ethnic Uyghur men, one of whom allegedly professed his motivation as jihad, announced their intent to hijack the aircraft, according to multiple witnesses. In response, passengers and crew resisted and successfully restrained the hijackers, who were armed with aluminium crutches and explosives.

The aircraft turned around and landed at 12:45 pm back in Hotan, where 11 passengers and crew and two hijackers were treated for injuries. Two hijackers died from injuries from the fight on board. The Xinjiang government classified the incident as terrorism. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reviewed Hotan airport's security measures and airport security was escalated in Xinjiang. The incident marked the first serious hijacking attempt in China since 1990, and the first fatal hijacking or attempted hijacking since the September 11 attacks.