View source for UTA Flight 772

{{Short description|1989 bombing of a French airliner in eastern Niger}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| name            = UTA Flight 772
| image           = McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, UTA - Union de Transports Aeriens AN1157322.jpg
| alt             = 
| caption         = N54629, the aircraft involved in the bombing
| occurrence_type = Bombing
| date            = 19 September 1989
| type            = [[In-flight breakup]] due to [[terrorist]] bombing
| site            = [[Ténéré]], Niger
| coordinates     = {{Coord|16.86493|N|11.953712|E|region:NE_type:landmark_dim:100|display=inline,title}}
| aircraft_type   = {{nowrap|[[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30]]}}
| operator        = [[Union des Transports Aériens|Union des Transports Aériens (UTA)]]
| plane1_callsign = UTA 772
| tail_number     = N54629
| origin          = [[Maya-Maya Airport]],<br/>[[Brazzaville]], People's Republic of the Congo
| stopover        = [[N'Djamena International Airport|N'Djamena Int'l. Airport]],<br/>[[N'Djamena]], Chad
| destination     = {{nowrap|[[Charles de Gaulle Airport]]}},<br/>[[Paris]], France
| occupants       = 170
| passengers      = 156
| crew            = 14
| fatalities      = 170
| survivors       = 0
| IATA            = UT772
| plane1_ICAO     = UTA772
}}

'''UTA Flight 772''' was a scheduled international passenger flight of the French airline [[Union de Transports Aériens]] (UTA) operating from [[Brazzaville]] in the [[People's Republic of the Congo]], via [[N'Djamena]] in Chad, to [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] in Paris, France on 19 September 1989, which crashed into the [[Ténéré|Ténéré desert]] near [[Bilma|Bilma, Niger]], killing all 170 people on board after an in-flight explosion caused by a suitcase bomb. It is the deadliest aviation incident to occur in [[Niger]].

==Aircraft and crew==
The aircraft, a [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30]], with American [[Aircraft registration|registration]] {{Airreg|N|54629|,}} [[serial number]] 46852, was manufactured in 1973 and [[Maiden flight|first flew]] on 13 March. It was the 125th DC-10 produced, and had accumulated 14,777 flight cycles over 60,276 flight hours at the time of its [[hull loss]]. It was equipped with three [[General Electric CF6|General Electric CF6-50C2R]] engines.<ref name="ASN 19890919" />

The [[Pilot in command|captain]], 40-year-old Georges Raveneau, was an experienced pilot, with a total of 11,039 flight hours, 2,723 of which were on the DC-10. The left-seat pilot, 38-year-old Jean-Pierre Hennequin, had a total of 6,442 flight hours, 28 of which were on the DC-10. The [[First officer (aviation)|first officer]], 41-year-old Michel Crézé, had a total of 8,357 flight hours, 754 of which were on the DC-10. The [[flight engineer]], 28-year-old Alain Bricout, had a total of 597 flight hours, 180 of which were on the DC-10.<ref name="english report">{{cite web| url=http://aviation-safety.net/reports/890919-0.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001120062600/http://aviation-safety.net/reports/890919-0.htm | access-date=2024-01-19 |archive-date=2000-11-20 | title=Final Rapport - Concerning the accident which occurred on 19 september 1989 in the Tenere desert (Niger) to DC-10-30 registered N54629 | publisher=Ministry of planning, housing and transport}}</ref>[[image:Map_of_UTA_Flight_772_b.jpg|thumb|Route taken by UTA Flight 772.]]

==Incident==
[[File:ISS038-E-7474 - View of Earth.jpg|thumb|View of Southern Ténéré desert from [[ISS]]. Approximately north-east of [[Termit Massif]] (center), is located the place of the crash and memorial.]]
On Tuesday, 19 September 1989 the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft took off from [[N'Djamena International Airport]] at 13:13. Forty-six minutes later, at its cruising altitude of {{convert|35100|ft|m|abbr=}}, a suitcase bomb exploded in the cargo hold, causing UTA Flight 772 to break up over the [[Sahara]] {{convert|450|km|mi nmi}} east of [[Agadez]] in the southern [[Ténéré]] and to the north of the [[Termit Massif]] in the [[Zinder Region]] of [[Niger]]. The explosion scattered debris over hundreds of square miles of desert.<ref name="Whitney 1997">{{cite web | last=Whitney | first=Craig R. | title=France Charges 6 Libyans With '89 Sahara Jet Bombing | website=The New York Times | date=1997-05-08 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/08/world/france-charges-6-libyans-with-89-sahara-jet-bombing.html | access-date=2018-03-10}}</ref> All 170 occupants were killed.<ref name="CourtAwardsPRNewswire">{{Cite web |date=15 January 2008 |title=Court Awards US Victims More Than $6 Billion for 1989 Libyan Terrorist Bombing of French Airliner That Killed 170 People Over African Desert |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/court-awards-us-victims-more-than-6-billion-for-1989-libyan-terrorist-bombing-of-french-airliner-that-killed-170-people-over-african-desert-56918657.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919000218/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/court-awards-us-victims-more-than-6-billion-for-1989-libyan-terrorist-bombing-of-french-airliner-that-killed-170-people-over-african-desert-56918657.html |archive-date=19 September 2015 |access-date=3 June 2009 |website=PR Newswire}}</ref>

==Victims==
The victims came from 18 different countries,<ref name="UTAsitepaxbreakdown">{{Cite web |title=Les Familles de l'Attentat du DC10 d'UTA - membre de l'AfVT |trans-title=Families of the UTA DC10 Attack - AfVT member |url=http://www.dc10-uta.org/ |access-date=16 June 2009 |website=www.dc10-uta.org |language=fr}}</ref> the majority being French, Chadian, and Congolese nationals.<ref name="Bombkilled">{{cite news |date=1989-09-20 |title=BOMB BLAMED FOR CRASH OF FRENCH JET |url=https://www.deseret.com/1989/9/20/18824577/bomb-blamed-for-crash-of-french-jet/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016034211/https://www.deseret.com/1989/9/20/18824577/bomb-blamed-for-crash-of-french-jet/ |archive-date=2021-10-16 |access-date=2018-05-03 |work=[[Deseret News]]}}</ref> After the plane was bombed, Leonardo Leonardi, a spokesperson for the Italian Embassy in Paris, said that the embassy believed that six Italians were on the flight. A spokesperson of the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Friars Minor Capuchin]] religious order said that two members of the order were on board the aircraft. The bishop of [[Moundou]], Chad, was also on the flight.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 September 1989 |title=Plane with 171 aboard explodes |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k1lPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=G5ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5662,1311458&dq=uta+bombing&hl=en |access-date=27 April 2011 |work=[[New Straits Times]] |via=[[Google News]]}}</ref>

The other countries with victims were Algeria, Belgium, Bolivia, Cameroon, Canada, the Central African Republic, Greece, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).<ref name="UTAsitepaxbreakdown" />
Eight of the fatalities were oil workers (from [[Esso]], [[Parker Hannifin|Parker]], and [[Schlumberger]]) returning following the completion of drilling of the ''Kome-3'' borehole in southern Chad.

Among the victims was Bonnie Barnes Pugh<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_02-cv-02026/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_02-cv-02026-0.pdf|title=Case 1:02-cv-02026-HHK|publisher=[[Govinfo.gov]]|page=4/104|access-date=2024-03-24}}</ref> (''née'' Coverley<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_02-cv-02026/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_02-cv-02026-0.pdf|title=Case 1:02-cv-02026-HHK|publisher=[[Govinfo.gov]]|page=5/104|access-date=2024-03-24|quote=[...]her father Harvey Mills Coverley (now deceased),[...]}} - [[:File:Père-Lachaise - Division 77 - Vol UTA 772 01.jpg|The Pere Lachaise memorial identifies her]] [[maiden name]] as "Coverley"</ref>), wife of [[Robert L. Pugh]], American ambassador to Chad at the time.<ref name="CourtAwardsPRNewswire" />
{| class="wikitable"
!Nationality
!Passengers
!Crew
!Total
|-
|[[France]]
|40
|14
|54
|-
|[[People's Republic of the Congo]]
|48
|0
|48
|-
|[[Chad]]
|25
|0
|25
|-
|[[Italy]]
|9
|0
|9
|-
|[[United States]]
|7
|0
|7
|-
|[[Cameroon]]
|5
|0
|5
|-
|[[United Kingdom]]
|4
|0
|4
|-
|[[Zaire]]
|3
|0
|3
|-
|[[Canada]]
|3
|0
|3
|-
|[[Central African Republic]]
|2
|0
|2
|-
|[[Mali]]
|2
|0
|2
|-
|[[Switzerland]]
|2
|0
|2
|-
|[[Algeria]]
|1
|0
|1
|-
|[[Belgium]]
|1
|0
|1
|-
|[[Bolivia]]
|1
|0
|1
|-
|[[Greece]]
|1
|0
|1
|-
|[[Morocco]]
|1
|0
|1
|-
|[[Senegal]]
|1
|0
|1
|-
|'''Total'''
|156
|14
|170
|}

==Investigation==
An investigation commission of the [[International Civil Aviation Organization]] determined that a [[bomb]] placed in a container in location 13-R in the forward cargo hold caused the destruction of the aircraft. The commission suggested that the most plausible hypothesis was for the bomb to have been inside the baggage loaded at Brazzaville airport. Initial speculation over which groups might have been responsible for destroying UTA Flight 772 centered upon [[Islamic Jihad Organization|Islamic Jihad]], who were quick to claim responsibility for the attack, and the "Secret Chadian Resistance" rebel group, which opposed president [[Hissen Habré]].<ref name="ASN 19890919" /> Five years previously, on 10 March 1984, a bomb destroyed another UTA aircraft from Brazzaville shortly after the [[Douglas DC-8|DC-8]] had landed at N'Djamena airport. There were no fatalities on that occasion and those responsible were never identified.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63PF F-BOLL N'Djamena Airport (NDJ) |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19840310-0 |access-date=2019-05-24 |website=Aviation Safety Network}}</ref>

==Trial ''in absentia''==
The investigators obtained a confession from one of the alleged terrorists, a Congolese opposition figure, who had helped recruit a fellow dissident to smuggle the bomb onto the aircraft.<ref name="Péan French">{{Cite web|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2001/03/PEAN/6174|title=Les preuves trafiquées du terrorisme libyen|last=Péan|first=Pierre|date=2001-03-01|website=Le Monde diplomatique|language=fr|trans-title=Tampered evidence of Libyan terrorism|access-date=2019-05-24}}</ref> This confession led to charges being brought against six Libyans. French judge [[Jean-Louis Bruguière]] identified them, as follows:

* [[Abdullah Senussi]], brother-in-law of [[Muammar Gaddafi]], and deputy head of Libyan intelligence;
* Abdullah Elazragh, Counsellor at the Libyan embassy in Brazzaville;
* Ibrahim Naeli and Arbas Musbah, explosives experts in the Libyan secret service;
* Issa Shibani, the secret agent who purchased the timer that allegedly triggered the bomb; and,
* Abdelsalam Hammouda, Senussi's right-hand man, who was said to have coordinated the attack.

In 1999, the six Libyans were put on trial in the [[Cour d'assises|Paris Assize Court]] for the bombing of UTA Flight 772. Because Gaddafi would not allow their [[extradition]] to France, the six were tried ''in absentia'' and were convicted.

On 5 September 2012, the country of [[Mauritania]] extradited Abdullah Senussi to Libyan authorities. Senussi was to be tried in Libya for crimes he allegedly committed during the time he was the close assistant to Gaddafi.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 September 2012 |title=Mauritania 'extradites Libya ex-spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19487228 |access-date=5 September 2012 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Senussi appeared in a Libyan court for a pre-trial hearing on 19 September 2013. On 11 October 2013, the International Criminal Court ruled that he can be tried in Libya and lifted their warrant.<ref>{{cite news |date=11 October 2013 |title=Gaddafi spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi in court |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24498190 |access-date=4 November 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

===Alleged motive===
The motive usually attributed to Libya for the UTA Flight 772 bombing was retaliation against the French for supporting [[Chad]] against [[Chadian–Libyan conflict|the expansionist projects of Libya toward Chad]].

The [[Chadian–Libyan War]] (1978–1987) ended in disaster for Libya following the defeat at the [[Battle of Maaten al-Sarra]] in the 1987 [[Toyota War]]. Muammar Gaddafi was forced to accede to a [[ceasefire]] ending the Chadian–Libyan conflict and his dreams of African and Arab dominance. Gaddafi blamed the defeat on French and United States "aggression against Libya".<ref name="Greenwald">{{Cite news |author=Greenwald |first=John |date=21 September 1987 |title=Disputes Raiders of the Armed Toyotas |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965563,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153552/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965563,00.html |archive-date=30 September 2007 |newspaper=TIME}}</ref> The result was Gaddafi's lingering animosity against the two countries which led to Libyan support for the bombings of [[Pan Am Flight 103]] and UTA Flight 772.<ref name="ASN 19890919">{{cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 N54629 Ténéré desert |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19890919-1 |access-date=4 June 2011 |website=Aviation Safety Network}}</ref>

==Libyan compensation==
The Paris court awarded the families of the UTA victims sums ranging from €3 000 to €30 000 depending on their relationship to the dead. Not content with this award, the French relatives' group "UTA DC10 Families" ({{Langx|fr|Les Familles du DC10 d'UTA}})''<ref name="UTAsitepaxbreakdown" />'' signed an agreement on 9 January 2004 with the [[Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations]] accepting a compensation payment of US$170 million, or $1 million for each of the 170 UTA victims. By May 2007, it was reported that 95% of this compensation money had been distributed.<ref>[http://perso.orange.fr/dc10-uta/presse/2007/070522afp.htm Over $160 million of Libyan compensation distributed]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> However, the families of the seven American victims refused to accept their US$1 million awards and began pursuing the Libyan government through a federal court in [[Washington D.C.|Washington]]. 

On 19 September 2006, the court was asked to rule that the Libyan government and six of its agents were guilty of the destruction of UTA Flight 772 on 19 September 1989. Damages of more than US$2 billion were claimed for the loss of life and the destruction of the DC-10 jet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Compensation claim by American relatives |url=http://www.crowell.com/content/Expertise/VictimsofTerrorism/UTAFlight772/UTAFlight772.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060323004318/http://www.crowell.com/content/Expertise/VictimsofTerrorism/UTAFlight772/UTAFlight772.htm |archive-date=2006-03-23 |access-date=2007-06-18 |website=www.crowell.com}}</ref>

In April 2007, D.C. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy found Libya directly responsible for the bombing and presided over a three-day bench trial from 13 August 2007 to 15 August 2007. On 15 January 2008, Judge Kennedy issued an order awarding US$6&nbsp;billion in damages to the families and owners of the airliner; Libya appealed this decision.<ref name="CourtAwardsPRNewswire" /><ref>{{cite news |date=16 January 2007 |title=U.S. court orders Libya to pay $6 billion for bombing |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1657189520080116 |access-date=18 January 2007 |work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.crowell.com/PDF/UTA-Flight-772/UTA_Memorandum-of-Law_Judge-Kennedy.pdf |title=Memorandum, ''Robert Pugh, et al. v. Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya'', Civ. Action No. 02-2026-HHK (D.D.C. 15 January 2007) |access-date=16 January 2008 |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708205300/http://www.crowell.com/PDF/UTA-Flight-772/UTA_Memorandum-of-Law_Judge-Kennedy.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Carrol |first=Susan |title=U.S. judge orders Libya to pay billions to plane victims |url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/u-s-judge-orders-libya-to-pay-billions-to-plane-1765875.php |access-date=2007-01-18 |work=[[Houston Chronicle]]}}</ref> 

In October 2008, Libya paid [[USD|$]]1.5 billion into a fund to be used to compensate relatives of the:
#[[Lockerbie bombing]] victims;
#American victims of the [[1986 Berlin discotheque bombing]];
#American victims of the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing; and,
#Libyan victims of the [[Operation El Dorado Canyon|1986 US bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi]].

In response U.S. [[George W. Bush|President George W. Bush]] signed an [[Executive order (United States)|executive order]] dismissing all of the pending compensation cases in the U.S. and restoring the Libyan government's immunity from terror-related lawsuits.<ref>{{cite news

|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7703110.stm
|title=Libya compensates terror victims
|access-date=1 November 2008
|work=BBC News
| date=31 October 2008
}}</ref>

==Other statements==
In ''Manipulations Africaines'' (''African Manipulations''), published in February 2001, [[Pierre Péan]] investigated the sabotage of UTA Flight 772. He alleged that evidence pointed to [[Iran]] and [[Syria]] (acting through the [[Hezbollah]] movement), but that due to political context (notably the [[Gulf War]]), France and the United States tried to put the blame on [[Libya]]. He accuses judge [[Jean-Louis Bruguière]] of deliberately neglecting proof of Lebanon, Syria and Iran being involved to pursue only the Libyan trail. He also accused [[Thomas Thurman]], a [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] explosives expert, of fabricating false evidence against Libya in both the [[Pan Am Flight 103]] and UTA Flight 772 sabotages.<ref name="Péan French" /><ref name="Pean English">{{cite news |author=Péan |first=Pierre |year=2001 |title=African Manipulations: Tainted Evidence of Libyan Terrorism |url=http://mondediplo.com/2001/03/05libya |access-date=24 January 2009}}</ref>

On 18 July 2011, former Libyan foreign minister [[Abdel Rahman Shalgham]], who had defected from the Libyan government in March at the beginning of what would become the [[2011 Libyan civil war]], told ''[[al-Hayat]]'' that the Libyan government was responsible for the bombing of UTA Flight 772. He stated "The Libyan security services blew up the plane. They believed that opposition leader [[Mohammed al-Megrief]] was on board, but after the plane was blown up, it was found that he was not on the plane." He also claimed that "The [[Pan Am Flight 103|Lockerbie operation]] was more complex ... the role of states and organizations has been discussed, and while the Libyan services were implicated, I do not think it was a purely Libyan operation."<ref>{{cite web |date=18 July 2011 |title=Ex-foreign minister says Libya behind 1989 airline attack |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/07/18/158145.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718133408/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/07/18/158145.html |archive-date=18 July 2011 |access-date=18 July 2011 |publisher=Al Arabiya |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Memorial==
[[File:Mémorial du Vol 772 de l UTA.jpg|thumb|UTA Flight 772 Memorial]]
In 2007 a memorial was created in the desert by Les Familles de l'Attentat du DC-10 d'UTA, an association of the victims' families. In order to retain the sanctity of the crash site, the memorial is about {{convert|10|km|mi nmi}} away from it, so that it can be seen from planes following the same air route as Flight 772.<ref name="Venema">{{cite news |last=Venema |first=Vibeke |date=22 January 2014 |title=The Sahara memorial seen from space |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25643103 |access-date=22 January 2014 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-07-09 |title=Un monument en plein Sahara pour les victimes de l'attentat du DC10 |trans-title=A monument in the middle of the Sahara for the victims of the DC10 attack |url=https://www.la-croix.com/Archives/2007-07-09/Un-monument-en-plein-Sahara-pour-les-victimes-de-l-attentat-du-DC10-_NP_-2007-07-09-296008 |access-date=2024-02-02 |work=La Croix |language=fr-FR |issn=0242-6056}}</ref> The memorial, at {{coord|16|51|53.748|N|11|57|13.362|E|display=inline|name=UTA Flight 772 memorial}}, is constructed of black rock in the shape and dimensions of the DC-10 airplane inside a compass, with the starboard half of the plane's horizontal [[Stabilizer (aeronautics) |stabilizer]] used as a compass point, and 170 broken mirrors to reflect the victims of the crash. The stabilizer carries a plaque with the names of those on board.<ref name="UTAsitepaxbreakdown" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://googlesightseeing.com/2009/06/15/uta-flight-772-memorial-desert-week-2/
|title=UTA Flight 772 memorial|date=15 June 2009|publisher=Google Sightseeing|access-date=16 June 2009}}</ref> The memorial is visible in aerial imagery on [https://maps.google.com/maps?q=UTA+Flight+772+Memorial&hl=en&ll=16.86538,11.954209&spn=0.004559,0.008014&cid=13423075770414409028&gl=US&t=h&z=18&iwloc=A Google Maps].<ref>{{cite web|title=UTA Flight 772 Memorial from Google Earth|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=UTA+Flight+772&hl=en&ll=16.864913,11.953734&spn=0.001466,0.002411&sll=43.656877,-79.32085&sspn=0.567316,1.234589&hnear=UTA+Flight+772&t=h&z=19|publisher=DigitalGlobe|access-date=17 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.viralnova.com/i-noticed-this-tiny-thing-on-google-maps-and-when-i-zoomed-in-well-nothing-could-prepare-me |title=I Noticed This Tiny Thing on Google Maps. When I Zoomed In… Well, Nothing Could Prepare Me |date=2 November 2013 |publisher=ViralNova.com |access-date=4 November 2013 |archive-date=4 November 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131104191412/http://www.viralnova.com/i-noticed-this-tiny-thing-on-google-maps-and-when-i-zoomed-in-well-nothing-could-prepare-me/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=UTA Flight 772 Memorial|date=4 November 2013 |url=http://www.snopes.com/photos/airplane/flight772.asp|publisher=Snopes|access-date=2 January 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Père-Lachaise - Division 77 - Vol UTA 772 01.jpg|thumb|Memorial at the [[Père Lachaise Cemetery|Père-Lachaise cemetery]], Paris, France.]]
The organizer of the memorial was Frenchman Guillaume Denoix de Saint Marc, whose father, Jean-Henri, died on the flight.<ref name="Venema" />

As of 2020, the memorial has become buried under sand due to [[desertification]] and is no longer visible.

==In popular culture==
[[Rush (band)|Rush]] [[drummer]] [[Neil Peart]] mentioned this incident at length in his travel memoir, ''[[The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa]]'', as he had taken this flight less than a year prior to the incident from N'Djamena to Paris once he was finished with his [[Cameroon]] bicycling tour.

A book by Stu Newburger called ''The Forgotten Flight: Terrorism, Diplomacy and the Pursuit of Justice ''is about the crash.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rfi.fr:443/en/africa/20170610-global-focus-uta-772-forgotten-flight|title=New book about Libya's bombing of UTA 772 - The Forgotten Flight|publisher=[[Radio France International]]|date=2017-06-10|access-date=2024-03-25}}</ref>

==Maps==
{|
|-
|{{Location map many
|World
|width       = 550
|float       = 
|border      = 
|caption     = Location of the accident and the airports
|alt         = The locations of the accident and the airports
|relief      = 
|AlternativeMap = 
|<!--first label/marker-->
|label1      = Brazzaville
|label1_size = <!-- or: label_size -->
|position1   = <!-- or: position, pos1, pos -->
|background1 = <!-- or: background, bg1, bg -->
|mark1       = Green pog.svg
|mark1size   = <!-- or: marksize -->
|link1       = <!-- or: link -->
|lat1_deg    = 4
|lat1_min    = 6
|lat1_sec    = 04
|lat1_dir    = S
|lon1_deg    = 15
|lon1_min    = 17
|lon1_sec    = 31
|lon1_dir    = E
|<!--second label/marker-->
|label2      = N'Djamena
|label2_size = 
|position2   = <!-- or: pos2 -->
|background2 = <!-- or: bg2 -->
|mark2       = Green pog.svg
|mark2size   = 
|link2       = 
|lat2_deg    = 12
|lat2_min    = 6
|lat2_sec    = 47
|lat2_dir    = N
|lon2_deg    = 15
|lon2_min    = 2
|lon2_sec    = 57
|lon2_dir    = E
|<!--third label/marker-->
|label3      = Crash site
|label3_size =
|position3   = <!-- or: pos2 -->
|background3 = <!-- or: bg2 -->
|mark3       = Airplane Crash.svg
|mark3size   = 10
|link3       =
|lat3_deg    = 16
|lat3_min    = 51
|lat3_sec    = 53
|lat3_dir    = N
|lon3_deg    = 11
|lon3_min    = 57
|lon3_sec    = 13
|lon3_dir    = E
|<!--fourth label/marker-->
|label4      = Paris
|label4_size = 
|position4   = <!-- or: pos2 -->
|background4 = <!-- or: bg2 -->
|mark4       = 
|mark4size   = 
|link4       = 
|lat4_deg    = 48
|lat4_min    = 51
|lat4_sec    = 24
|lat4_dir    = N
|lon4_deg    = 2
|lon4_min    = 21
|lon4_sec    = 3
|lon4_dir    = E
|<!--repeat as needed up to 9-->
}}
||{{location map|Niger|width=356
|caption     = Crash site in Niger
|label = Crash site
|label_size =
|position   = <!-- or: pos2 -->
|background = <!-- or: bg2 -->
|mark       = Airplane Crash.svg
|marksize   = 10
|link       =
|lat_deg    = 16
|lat_min    = 51
|lat_sec    = 53
|lat_dir    = N
|lon_deg    = 11
|lon_min    = 57
|lon_sec    = 13
|lon_dir    = E
}}
|}

==See also==
* [[Air India Flight 182]]
* [[List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft]]
* [[Pan Am Flight 73]]
* [[Pan Am Flight 103]]
* [[Pierre Péan]]
* [[Libya and state-sponsored terrorism]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite news |author=Cody |first=Edward |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/09/20/french-dc-10-carrying-170-missing-after-stop-in-africa/4d0aae2b-762d-4ec7-82af-dbce1831367c/ |title=FRENCH DC-10 CARRYING 170 MISSING AFTER STOP IN AFRICA |access-date=2018-05-03 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=1989-09-21}}
* {{cite news |author=Cody |first=Edward |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/09/21/air-crash-attributed-to-bomb/b175b3c2-5208-48f7-9385-4a282005900b/ |title=AIR CRASH ATTRIBUTED TO BOMB |access-date=2018-05-03 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=1989-09-21}}
* {{cite news |author=Reynolds, Paul |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3163621.stm |title=UTA 772: The forgotten flight |access-date=2004-08-13 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=2003-08-19}}

==External links==
* [https://bea.aero/fileadmin/documents/docspa/1989/n-29890919/pdf/n-29890919_06.pdf Final report] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120604234642/http://www.bea.aero/docspa/1989/n-29890919/pdf/n-29890919.pdf Archive]) {{in lang|fr}}<!--Alternate link: https://reports.aviation-safety.net/1989/19890919-1_DC10_N54629.pdf -->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20001120062600/http://aviation-safety.net/reports/890919-0.htm English translation of final report] Prepared by Harro Ranter, [[Flight Safety Foundation|Aviation Safety Network]] 
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20020105095804/http://aviation-safety.net/reports/890919-a.htm Appendices] 
* {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.dc10-uta.org/|title=Les Familles de l'Attentat du DC10 d'UTA}} {{in lang|fr}}
* [https://archive.today/20131104191412/http://www.viralnova.com/i-noticed-this-tiny-thing-on-google-maps-and-when-i-zoomed-in-well-nothing-could-prepare-me/ Additional photos of memorial and its construction]

{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1989}}
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[[Category:Union de Transports Aériens accidents and incidents|772]]
[[Category:Airliner bombings]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1989]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Africa in 1989]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Niger]]
[[Category:History of the United Nations]]
[[Category:1989 in Chad]]
[[Category:1989 in Niger]] 
[[Category:1989 disasters in Niger]] 
[[Category:1989 in France]]
[[Category:1989 in Libya]]
[[Category:1989 in the Republic of the Congo]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-10]]
[[Category:Chadian–Libyan War]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1989]]
[[Category:France–Libya relations]]
[[Category:1989 crimes]]
[[Category:September 1989]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Niger]]
[[Category:Terrorism committed by Libya]]