This Boeing 767-260ER belonging to Ethiopian Airlines was en route from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya, on November 23rd 1996. 172 passengers and crew were onboard. The plane was hijacked by three Ethiopians seeking political asylum in Australia, and asking the crew to fly to Australia. The pilot explained they had only taken on the fuel needed for the scheduled flight and thus could not even make a quarter of the journey, but the hijackers did not believe him. The pilot secretly headed for the Comoro Islands, which lie midway between Madagascar and the African mainland.
The plane eventually ran out of fuel. A fight with the hijackers prevented the crew to land on Comores aiport. The pilot tried to ditch the aircraft in shallow waters 500 metres off the coast. The plane left engine and wingtip struck the water first. The left engine then struck a coral reef, slowing that side of the aircraft quickly, causing the Boeing 767 to violently spin left and break apart.
122 of the 172 people on board were killed, along with the hijackers. The other 50 survived with injuries.