Creeperian Airlines Flight 1113

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Creeperian Airlines Flight 1113
A Maroto Botín MB-10-10, similar to the one involved in the bombing
A Maroto Botín MB-10-10, similar to the one involved in the bombing
Bombing
Date14 March 1983
SummaryBombing by Frente NEPOC
SiteSouthern Ocean, 114 miles (183 km) north-northeast of Desayuno, San Carlos Islands, Creeperopolis
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMaroto Botín MB-10-10
Aircraft nameJosé Joaquín Gutiérrez y Rubalcava
OperatorCreeperian Airlines
IATA flight No.AC1113
ICAO flight No.ACR1113
Call signCREEPERIANO 1113
RegistrationC10X9AC
Flight originCristóbal Colón Cámarillo International Airport, Cámarillo, Creeperopolis
DestinationFort Handel International Airport, Fort Handel, New Gandor
Occupants265
Passengers248
Crew17
Fatalities265 (all)
Survivors0

Creeperian Airlines Flight 1113 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Creeperian Airlines from Cámarillo, Creeperopolis to Fort Handel, New Gandor which was bombed over the Southern Ocean on 14 March 1983 by Frente NEPOC, a far-right militant group, as a part of its anti-government bombing campaign during the San Carlos Islands Crisis. The bombing killed all 265 people on board the Maroto Botín MB-10-10.

After the aircraft failed to make contact with Gandorian air traffic control, both the Creeperian Armed Forces and the New Gandorian Armed Forces launched search and rescue operations in the Southern Ocean. Some wreckage on the ocean surface was found on 15 March 1983, and the remaining wreckage on the ocean floor was discovered in late-April 1983. Due to the then-ongoing armed conflict in the San Carlos Islands, the Creeperian government suspected that the flight had been bombed by one of multiple militant groups active in the department, however, no groups claimed responsibility, with some even rejecting any involvement and denouncing the bombing.

A one-year-long investigation by the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) and the Imperial Aviation Directorate (DAVIM) officially determined that the flight had been bombed by Frente NEPOC in retaliation for Creeperian government operations against the group. The investigation also determined that the flight had "accidentally" been bombed by the group, stating that Creeperian Airlines Flight 711 from Cámarillo to San Romero was the intended target of the bombing but that the baggage containing the bomb was accidentally loaded onto the wrong flight. Frente NEPOC denied all involvement in the bombing, instead, accusing the Juan Palafox Mendoza Revolutionary Council (CR-JHPM) of having carried out the bombing. Despite the investigation's conclusion, the bombing remains controversial and various conspiracy theories regarding the bombing have manifested.

The bombing of Creeperian Airlines Flight 1113 led to the Creeperian government conducting Operation Gutiérrez Rubalcava in June 1983 which targeted Frente NEPOC leadership; the operation resulted in the arrests of 26 Frente NEPOC leaders and led to the deaths of around 600 soldiers and militant fighters. The bombing also led to the Gandorian government supporting the Creeperian government in the San Carlos Islands Crisis by providing soldiers, weapons, and materiel, and the Gandorian government designated Frente NEPOC as a terrorist organization.[note 1]

Background

On 12 October 1981, various Natizo and Native San Carlos Islander activists and students formed the Juan Horacio Palafox Mendoza Revolutionary Council (CR-JHPM) and announced their intention to rally support across the San Carlos Islands to declare independence from Creeperopolis. The council eventually formed three militant organizations—the San Carlosan Independence Movement (MISC), the Orisla Liberation Commandos (CLO), and the 12 October Movement (M–12–O)—which began an armed conflict against the Creeperian government. Later that same year, Native San Carlos Islanders in the viceroyalty of Esclaveta formed the Kapahu Alana Revolutionary Movement (MRKA) with ambitions to form a Native San Carlos Islander state in the southern San Carlos Islands. The Creeperian government deployed the Creeperian Armed Forces to suppress the unfolding conflict in the San Carlos Islands; most of the CR-JHPM's and MRKA's actions were contained to the rural and remote areas of the viceroyalties of Esclaveta, Orisla, and Pescante, with infrequent incursions into urban areas.

Some ethnic Creeperans believed that the Creeperian government was failing to adequately suppress the rebel groups and sought the extermination of Natizos and Native San Carlos Islanders and as a result formed the Frente NEPOC militant group. Frente NEPOC was founded by Tomás Tejón Dávalos, a retired Creeperian Army soldier, and the group began to regularly clash with the Creeperian government. On 8 November 1982, Tejón Dávalos was assassinated by the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), after which, his successor, Martín Salinas Hurtado, formally declared war on the Creeperian government. Frente NEPOC proceeded to carry out a series of car bombings at Creeperian government buildings and military installations in retaliation for the assassination of Tejón Dávalos, in addition to its terrorist attacks against universities, hospitals, and public spaces. In December 1982, the Creeperian government conducted Operation Mariposa which resulted in the arrests of twelve high-ranking Frente NEPOC military commanders; shortly afterwards, Frente NEPOC stated that it would continue its campaigns against the Creeperian government. Unlike the CR-JHPM and the MRKA, Frente NEPOC's attacks were primarily focused in urban areas in the viceroyalty of Colón leading to heavy police and military presence in many of the viceroyalty's cities.

Plot planning

Original plan

In retaliation to the Creeperian government's operations against Frente NEPOC, the group devised a plot to bomb a Creeperian Airlines airliner in mid-flight while traveling from the San Carlos Islands to destinations in mainland Creeperopolis. The plot, codenamed "Operation Downed Eagle", was primarily organized by Leonel Chamorro Pareja, a former Creeperian Army soldier; in total, around 20 people were involved in organizing the plot and preparing the explosives which would be used in the bombings.

The plot called for three airliners flying from Cámarillo to San Salvador, Adolfosburg, and Salvador to be bombed simultaneously over the Southern Ocean. The plotters wanted to conduct a test bombing before conducting the full operation; they selected Creeperian Airlines Flight 711 from Cámarillo to San Romero as a "trial run" and they set the date of the bombing for 14 March 1983. Frente NEPOC planned to deny involvement in the bombing of Flight 711—instead blaming it on the CR-JHPM or the MRKA—until after successfully bombing the flights to San Salvador, Adolfosburg, and Salvador. The group then planned to threaten to carry out more attacks unless the government ceased targeting Frente NEPOC leadership and bases of operation.

Explosives

Baggage misplacement

Aircraft

Creeperian Airlines Flight 1113 was operated by a Maroto Botín MB-10-10 (registration number: C10X9AC). The aircraft was the 25th Maroto Botín MB-10 built and the airline acquired the aircraft in 1974. Creeperian Airlines named the aircraft José Joaquín Gutiérrez y Rubalcava after a 19th-century admiral and former captain general of the San Carlos Islands from 1833 to 1876. The flight's IATA code was AC1113, its ICAO code was ACR1113, and its callsign was "CREEPERIANO 1113".

Passengers and crew

Occupants on board by nationality
Nationality Pass. Crew Total
 Creeperopolis 153 17 170
 New Gandor[note 2] 87 87
 Paleocacher 4 4
 Gjorka 2 2
 El Salvador 1 1
 Sequoyah 1 1
Total 248 17 265

The flight crew on board Creeperian Airlines Flight 1113 consisted of 46-year-old Captain Luís Enríquez Medrano, 37-year-old First Officer Andrés Pérez Castro, and 49-year-old Flight Engineer Víctor Payés Quiñónez. All members of the flight crew were retired Creeperian Air Force pilots and had each accumulated several thousand flight hours; Enríquez Medrano had 10,128 flight hours (2,218 of which were in the MB-13), Pérez Castro had 7,948 flight hours (1,438 of which were in the MB-13), and Payés Quiñónez had 12,429 flight hours (2,085 of which were in the MB-13). During the flight, Enríquez Medrano flew the aircraft while Pérez Castro operated radio communications. In addition to the three members of the flight crew, fourteen flight attendants were on board the flight.

Bombing

Flight plan

Loss of contact

Search for the aircraft

Initial reactions

Militant reactions
  • Frente NEPOC – Frente NEPOC leadership released a statement following the publishing of the DINA's investigation stating, "The soldiers of the Norental-Esclaveta-Pescante-Orisla-Colón Front have absolutely no involvement with this unacceptable attack on a civilian airliner. There is no evidence to link us to this bombing. The Kapahu Alana Revolutionary Movement is the true culprit behind this attack, and may the international community see this truth as well."
  • MRKA – Following the bombing, Kapuni Halia, the leader of the Kapahu Alana Revolutionary Movement, stated, "This attack on innocent civilians is absolutely unacceptable and we deny any and all involvement with this attack. It is clear and obvious that the far-right extremists of Frente NEPOC are responsible for this crime." Following the Frente NEPOC announcement accusing the the MRKA of the attack, Halia again denounced Frente NEPOC as terrorists.
  • CR-JHPM – Following the bombing, the leaders of the Juan Horacio Palafox Mendoza Revolutionary Council stated, "We wholeheartedly condemn this attack on innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the ongoing fighting. This is a war against the tyrannical government, not innocent civilians. Attacking civilian targets is not the way forward in opposition to San Salvador."

Investigation

Salvage operation

Final report

The cause of the accident was unknown. The primary belief was that the plane was brought down by a bomb. The National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) stated the day following the incident that "a NEPOC bombing is the most likely reason." In April 1983, the aircraft's black boxes were recovered but the data provided nothing useful, being cut off abruptly. On 19 April 1983, seven members of Frente NEPOC were arrested in Cámarillo after a shooting occurred in which 6 people were killed. One of them, who was involved in the bombing, admitted that Frente NEPOC was involved in bombing the flight but that TACA Flight 711 had been the intended target. On 21 April 1983, the DINA officially concluded that the flight was "accidentally" bombed by Frente NEPOC as a part of its terrorist campaign against the Creeperian government and stated that the bomb was accidentally put onto Flight 1113 instead of Flight 711. Frente NEPOC denied all involvement in the bombing and accused the Kapahu Alana Revolutionary Movement (MRKA) of having carried out the bombing.

Aftermath

In the bombing, 265 people were killed. Of those killed, 165 were citizens of New Gandor. The bombing directly lead to New Gandor's involvement in the San Carlos Islands Crisis in support of the Creeperian government against Frente NEPOC and the other militant groups fighting for separation.

Subsequent military actions

Gandorian government response

Official government reactions
  •  CreeperopolisJosé Yagüe Rosales, the then Captain General of the San Carlos Islands, stated the day following the bombing, "This terrorist attack on a civilian airliner is absolutely unacceptable and must be condemned. No human being can possibly justify this immoral attack on innocent lives; only a subhuman can justify such an attack. Our prayers go out to all the families of the victims, and to the victims themselves, that they may see God and accompany Him in paradise. We send no such prayers to those who carried out this attack; may Baphomet take them to Hell."
  • New Gandor – From the office of the President given the information from Creeperopolis "It pains me to say that an event we thought was a tragic accident was not as such. An old wound has been reopened, learning that a civilian plane was eliminated as if it were nothing more than a pest. My fellow Gandorians, I am enraged along with you and vow to take just action against Frente NEPOC and it's allies. The Gandorian war machine has been awoken, and the forces of Frente NEPOC and other terrorist organizations in San Carlos Islands will feel it's wrath. Starting today we ally with Creeperopolis and will combat these terrorists. God bless those fallen, and God bless New Gandor."

Criminal proceedings

Motive

Trial and sentencing

Conspiracy theories

Memorials

See also

Notes

  1. The Creeperian government had designated Frente NEPOC as a terrorist organization in 1982.
  2. Including 3 passengers with dual Creeperian citizenship