Timeline
The plane, an Airbus A310 with registration 9V-STP, had taken off from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 18:15 SST, with 118 passengers and 11 crew on board. The plane was hijacked in mid-air while en route to Singapore Changi Airport, and landed safely at Changi Airport at 22:15, where an executive group of officials from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, along with Singapore Airlines representatives and a negotiating team, were all standing by.
The hijackers, who claimed to be members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), demanded the release of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari (later elected President of Pakistan), as well as other PPP members from jail. The hijackers also required the plane to be refuelled in order to fly to Australia. The next morning, March 27, at 02:30, the hijackers pushed two stewards out of the aircraft, after the plane had been moved to outer tarmac.
At 06:45, the hijackers gave a last 5-minute deadline, and issued a threat to kill one passenger every ten minutes if their demands were still not met. With three minutes to go, orders were given to initiate the assault: the Singapore Armed Forces Commando Formation (SAF CDO FN) stormed the plane in a 30-second sweep, killing all four hijackers with no injuries to hostages. The plane was completely secured by 06:50.
Read more about this topic: Singapore Airlines Flight 117