View source for American Airlines Flight 444

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{{Infobox Airliner accident|name=American Airlines Flight 444|
Date=November 15, 1979|
Type=Bombing (attempted)|
Site=|
Fatalities=0|
Injuries=12|
Aircraft Type=[[Boeing 727]]|
Operator=[[American Airlines]]|
Tail Number=|
Passengers=72|
Crew=6|
Survivors=78 (all)|
}}

'''American Airlines Flight 444''' was a [[Boeing 727]] flying from [[Chicago]] to [[Washington DC]], which on November 15, 1979 was attacked by the [[Theodore Kaczynski|Unabomber]].  The bomb planted in the cargo hold failed to [[detonation|detonate]], but gave off large quantities of smoke, and twelve passengers had to be treated afterwards for [[smoke inhalation]].  It was later determined that the bomb was powerful enough to have destroyed the aircraft had it worked correctly.

This was not the first Unabomber attack, but it was the attack which led to the [[FBI]] investigation into the Unabomber, as airliner bombing is a [[federal crime]].

American still uses the [[Flight Number]] 444 despite the incident. The number may operate several different routings over time as American routinely reassigns flight numbers that are not flagship routes to different sectors; as of July 2010, flight number 444 is used on a Chicago O'Hare-Boston routing, and uses a Boeing 738 ([[Boeing 737-800]]) instead of a Boeing 727.

==External links==
* {{ASN accident|id=19791115-1|type=Non-hull loss}}

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:American Airlines Flight 0444}}
[[Category:Failed airliner bombings]]
[[Category:Unabomber targets]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents on commercial airliners in the United States]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in 1979]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:American Airlines accidents and incidents|0444]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979]]
[[Category:1979 in the United States]]

[[fi:American Airlinesin lento 444]]
[[Category:2Fix]]