Leul Abate

Who is Leul Abate?

Captain Leul Abate was the pilot of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, which was hijacked on 23 November 1996, fifteen minutes out from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, by three Ethiopians seeking political asylum in Australia. The plane crashed in the Indian Ocean near The Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 125 of the 175 passengers and crew on board.

Leul observed that, "[The hijackers] knew they wouldn't make it to Australia - they just wanted us to crash. They should be dead. The way they were talking they didn't want to live."

Four hours later, the plane was nearly out of fuel as it approached the Comoros islands. Leul's co-pilot, Yonis Mekuria, had been attacked with an axe. The communications system in the airplane had been disabled. The hijackers ignored his plea to land at the Comoros's Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport, and instead, one of them, drinking a bottle of whiskey, decided to fly the plane himself.

When the plane ran out of fuel, both engines failed. Leul and Yonis Mekuria, bleeding and bruised, fought with the hijackers.