2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident

European Air Transport OO-DLL

The aircraft involved photographed in June 2003
Occurrence summary
Date	22 November 2003 (2003-11-22)
Summary	Terrorist missile attack, loss of flight controls
Site	Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq
Passengers	0
Crew	3
Fatalities	0
Injuries (non-fatal)	0
Survivors	3 (all)
Aircraft type	Airbus A300B4-203F
Operator	European Air Transport on behalf of DHL Express
Registration	OO-DLL
Flight origin	Baghdad International Airport
Destination	Bahrain International Airport

On 22 November 2003, shortly after takeoff from Baghdad, Iraq, an Airbus A300B4-200F cargo plane owned by European Air Transport (doing business as DHL Express) was struck on the left wing tip by a surface-to-air missile. Severe wing damage resulted in a fire and complete loss of hydraulic flight control systems. Because outboard left wing fuel tank 1A was full at takeoff, there was no fuel-air vapour explosion. Liquid jet fuel dropped away as 1A disintegrated. Inboard fuel tank 1 was pierced and leaking.

Returning to Baghdad, the three-man crew made an injury-free landing of the crippled aircraft, using differential engine thrust as the only pilot input. This is despite major damage to a wing, total loss of hydraulic control, a faster than safe landing speed and a ground path which veered off the runway surface and onto unprepared ground.

Paris Match reporter Claudine Vernier-Palliez accompanied a Fedayeen unit on their strike mission against the DHL aircraft.

Sara Daniel, a French weekly newsmagazine journalist claimed receipt, from an unknown source, of a video that showed insurgents, faces concealed, firing a missile at the DHL A300. Daniel was researching a feature about Iraqi resistance groups but she disclaimed any specific knowledge of the people who carried out the attack, despite being present at the moment of attack.

The aircraft took off from Baghdad International Airport en route to Bahrain International Airport at 06:30 UTC with an experienced crew of three: two Belgians, 38-year-old Captain Éric Gennotte and 29-year-old First Officer Steeve Michielsen, and a Scot, 54-year-old flight engineer Mario Rofail. The captain was a relatively experienced pilot with 13,423 total flight hours. More than half of his hours had been logged in the A300. The first officer had 1,275 hours of flight experience and the flight engineer had 3,300 hours of flight experience.