SQ 117 hijacking On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines shuttle flight SQ 117 took off at 9.15 p.m. from Kuala Lumpur with 118 passengers and a crew of 11. A few minutes later, four Pakistani men, armed with explosives and knives, hijacked the plane. When it landed at Changi Airport at 10.15 p.m., the hijackers identified themselves as members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). They demanded the release of 11 PPP leaders from prisons in Pakistan. They also wanted to speak with the Pakistani ambassador, and with PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan. In addition, the hijackers demanded that the plane be refuelled to take them to Australia.

They threw two crew members off the plane and issued an ultimatum at 6.45 a.m., threatening to kill one passenger every ten minutes if their demands were not met, starting five minutes after their announcement. Three minutes into the countdown, a team of 20 commandos from the Special Operations Force stormed the plane. All the hijackers were shot dead. The rescue was completed in 30 seconds. None of the 129 hostages on board were injured.