The landing of a DHL Airbus A300 Freighter in Baghdad, Iraq in 2003 was nothing short of miraculous. The aircraft was the target of a surface-to-air missile attack, which struck its left wing while departing the Iraqi capital. Despite a total loss of hydraulics, the plane's crew managed to return to the airport and land without any injuries to the three of them.

The flight in question

On November 22nd, 2003, a DHL Airbus A300 operated by European Air Transport Leipzig departed Baghdad International Airport (BGW) at 09:30 local time. Under US occupation, this facility had been renamed in April 2003. Previously, it was known as Saddam International Airport (SDA), after former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Its destination was Bahrain International Airport (BAH), which remains a hub for DHL International Aviation Middle East to this day. According to data from GCMap.com, the distance between Baghdad and Bahrain is 616 miles (991 km / 535 NM).

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The aircraft involved

The aircraft that operated the flight in question was an Airbus A300 B4-200 freighter. Registered as OO-DLL, it was 24 years old at the time of the attack. It entered commercial service with Malaysia Airlines as 9M-MHB in December 1979.

It spent the majority of its career with this carrier, eventually leaving after 15 years in November 1994. After this, it transferred to Carnival Airlines as N225KW, before moving on to PACE Cargo Enterprises by the end of the decade. However, it was only under PACE's ownership for 18 days. Its conversion to a cargo-carrying aircraft took place in March 1999.

The aircraft then joined European Air Transport Leipzig in September 2000, after which it was re-registered as OO-DLL. For just over three years, it operated services on behalf of the wider DHL Group, wearing a predominantly white livery with dark red detailing.

On November 22nd, 2003, it had two Belgian pilots and a Scottish flight engineer onboard. The latter of these had 13,400 hours of flight experience. Meanwhile, the captain had logged 3,300 flight hours (of which over half were in the A300), with the First Officer having 1,275.

Attacked after takeoff

Owing to the hostile situation that prevailed in Iraq in the early 2000s, the crew opted to climb rapidly upon departure from Baghdad. The idea of this was to minimize the risk of the aircraft being attacked from the ground. Nonetheless, a group of militants from the paramilitary pro-Hussein Fedayeen Saddam group fired a surface-to-air missile at the plane.

The climbing A300 had reached an altitude of 8,000 feet when the 9K34 Strela-3 missile struck the aircraft's left wing. The warhead impacted the jet between its engine and left wingtip, prompting a fire to break out. The strike also damaged trailing-edge surfaces and, crucially, led to a complete loss of hydraulic pressure in the A300's flight control system.

Baghdad Bahrain Map
Image: Google Maps

Flying without hydraulics

The lack of hydraulics made the aircraft difficult to control, and its pitch rapidly swung back and forth between nose-up and nose-down. With no flight control surfaces at their disposal, the crew had to use the A300's engines to direct the aircraft instead. With the aircraft needing to land urgently, the deployment of the landing gear helped to reduce its speed.

The crew spent around 10 minutes getting to grips with their new way of controlling the aircraft using nothing but engine power. This placed them in a similar situation to United flight 232 in 1989. Despite the hostile situation, returning to nearby Baghdad offered the best chance of a safe landing.

A carefully managed approach

Having brought the stricken aircraft under a degree of control, the crew made a right turn towards Baghdad International Airport, and began their descent. The approach had to be managed very carefully, as the plane was also leaking fuel from its damaged left wing.

This meant that a loss of engine power from the port engine could also have been a threat. After all, the rudimentary manner of controlling the aircraft's direction using thrust relied upon being able to control each of the plane's two turbofans precisely. Had fuel flow to the left engine been lost, fuel would have to have been fed in from a right-hand tank.

The crew initially planned to land on Baghdad's runway 33R, which is 4,000 meters long. However, while descending towards the airport, the wayward A300 began to veer off course, rendering the shorter runway 33L to be the best option under the circumstances.

The emergency landing

According to the Aviation Safety Network, the A300's first landing attempt resulted in a missed approach. However, the aircraft eventually managed to touch down on the second attempt 16 minutes later, landing on the 3,301-meter-long runway 33L. Just before touchdown, the plane encountered turbulence and rolled slightly, requiring a thrust correction.

Having brought the roll under control, the A300 finally touched down off-center, and immediately deployed its reverse thrusters. It was unable to retain a straight course on the runway, and veered off into the adjacent sand. The stricken aircraft eventually came to a stop after several hundred meters, having collected a razor-wire barrier along the way.

Despite the imminent danger posed by the initial missile strike, all three crew members survived the attack without injuries. This was the first instance of an airliner being landed without hydraulics with no loss of life. As such, the crew members were jointly awarded a host of accolades in the aftermath, in honor of their professionalism.

As for the aircraft, attempts were made to repair it following the crash, and it even went on sale in 2005 under the registration N1452. However, no buyer could be found, for the aircraft, which subsequently never flew again. After sitting for years in the sandy Iraqi desert, quite literally gathering dust, Planespotters.net reports that it has since been scrapped.

Others were not so lucky

The DHL A300 Freighter, indeed, had a miraculous escape. Others in similar situations were not so lucky. In August 1983, a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747-230B was shot down by Soviet forces after mistakenly identifying it as a spy aircraft.

The plane was performing a flight between New York JFK and Seoul, with a stop in Anchorage, Alaska. After it departed Anchorage, the 747 flew off course without the pilots realizing it. Several factors, including a non-functioning radar base on the Kamchatka Peninsula, led the Soviet forces to believe that the plane was on a spy mission. Eventually, it was shot down by fighter jets, killing all 269 passengers and crew.

Another incident involved a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 performing flight MH 17 on July 17, 2014, between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur. As the aircraft cruised over Ukraine at 33,000 feet, it lost contact with air traffic control. At the time, tensions were beginning to rise between Russia and Ukraine as Russia attempted to control Ukraine. Because warfare had recently gone airborne, Ukraine had closed airspace below 32,000 feet.

At 13:20 GMT, the 777 lost contact with air traffic control. Investigation revealed that a missile exploded just above and to the left of the cockpit, leading to the plane breaking up in midair and killing all 298 people onboard.

Can you remember this incident from 2003 or any others like it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Source: Aviation Safety Network