Singapore Airlines Flight 117
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Singapore Airlines flight SQ 117, piloted by Captain Stanley Lim, took off at 1815 hrs from Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur on 26 March, 1991, with 129 passengers and crew onboard. The Singapore Airlines aircraft was a medium to long range widebody A310 airplane, designed and manufactured by Airbus. Four passengers who claimed to be Pakistanis took control of the plane when it was en route to Singapore. The plane landed and parked at Changi Airport's Runway One at 2215 hrs.
Even before the plane arrived, an Executive Group of high-ranking officials from various organisations including MINDEF, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Information and the Arts, Singapore Airlines and a negotiating team had been alerted to the hijacking.
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[edit] Demands
The hijackers claimed to be members of the Pakistan People's Party. They wanted the release of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's husband and other PPP members detained in Pakistani jails. They also wanted the plane refuelled so that they could fly to Australia.
On 27 Mar 91 at 0230 hrs, the plane was moved to an outer tarmac. The hijackers pushed two SIA stewards out of the plane, injuring them. The injured stewards provided vital information, which assisted the eventual storming of the plane.
[edit] Countdown and rescue
The hijackers issued a five-minute deadline at 0645 hrs after which they threatened to kill one passenger every ten minutes if their demands were not acceded to.
On the countdown to three minutes, the order was given to storm the plane. Elite Singapore Special Operations Force members stormed the plane, killing the four Pakistani hijackers and freeing all 118 passengers and 9 crew. The rescue of SQ 117 was over in just 30 seconds and ended at 0650 hrs. None of the passengers and crew were hurt.
[edit] Prime Minister Goh's commendation
Goh Chok Tong (then Singapore Prime Minister) expressed his appreciation to everyone involved in the rescue, the officials from various ministries, statutory boards and SIA. He praised them for their swift and efficient handling of the crisis.
CPT Stanley Lim, the pilot of SQ 117 and Supt Foo Kia Juah, the leader of the Police negotiating team each received the Public Service Star for their role in the rescue. The Headquarters Commandos were awarded the Medal of Valour while the members of the unit and members of Police negotiating team were awarded Presidential Certificates of Commendation at a separate ceremony.
Several years later, the SAF finally acknowledged that the unit involved in resolving the incident, was a then classified "Special Operations Force" - an elite counter-terrorism and special reconnassaince and operations unit.
