American Airlines Flight 444
American Airlines Flight 444 was a Boeing 727 flying from Chicago to Washington, D.C.'s National Airport piloted by captain Donald M. Tynan, which, on November 15, 1979, was attacked by the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. The bomb planted in the cargo hold caused "a sucking explosion and a loss of pressure," which was then followed by large quantities of smoke filling the passenger cabin, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport. Twelve passengers had to be treated afterward for smoke inhalation. It was later determined that the bomb was powerful enough to have destroyed the aircraft if it had worked correctly.
This was not the first Unabomber attack, but it was the attack which led to the FBI investigation into the Unabomber, as airliner bombing is a federal crime.
