ON Dec 4, 1977, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH653 from Penang to Kuala Lumpur was scheduled to land at the then Subang International Airport after taking off at 7.21pm.
However, as the MAS Boeing 737 jetliner piloted by Captain G.K. Ganjoor and assisted by First Officer Kamarulzaman Jalil prepared its descent at 7.54pm in Subang Jaya, it was seized by hijackers who diverted the flight to Singapore's Paya Lebar Airport.
One of the pilots informed the Kuala Lumpur control tower that there was an emergency onboard followed by the words "hijackers onboard".
The air traffic control at the Subang Airport said the first report of the hijack came at 7.54pm, and emergency procedures were immediately instituted and it was believed that the plane was seized by the Japanese Red Army.
Captain Ganjoor, an Indian citizen who had been with MAS since its inception, was said to have asked the hijackers for permission to land at Subang Airport for refuelling as the plane had only sufficient fuel left for an hour's flight.
However, his request was denied by the hijackers and Ganjoor had reportedly radioed the air control tower: "We are now proceeding to Singapore."
All communications was lost at 8.15pm.
At 8.35pm about five minutes before it was due to land in Singapore, the plane was reported to have exploded mid-air and fatally crashed into a mangrove swamp in Tanjung Kupang, near Gelang Patah in Johor.
Ganjoor and Kamarulzaman were reportedly shot, and all 93 passengers and seven crew perished in the crash.
This catastrophic incident marked the nation's first hijack cum aircraft crash in its aviation history, the first for MAS since the airline was formed in early 1971 after the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines was split into two separate airline operators — SIA (Singapore Airlines) and MAS.
According to media reports, cockpit voice recordings revealed noises indicating the cockpit door had been broken down.
The recordings suggested a commotion and security personnel were heard trying to regain control of the aircraft.
Investigations revealed that the plane had hit the ground at a near-vertical angle at a very high speed.
Notable passengers onboard the plane were agriculture minister Datuk Seri Ali Ahmad, who was returning from a visit to Perlis; Public Works Department director-general Tan Sri Mahfudz Khalid and Cuban Ambassador to Japan Dr Mario Garcia Inchaustergui, who was in Malaysia on a farewell visit and was given an audience with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.
Fishermen and villagers told the police in Singapore that they saw an aircraft in flames and losing height rapidly before hearing a loud explosion when the crash occurred.
Villagers of Kampung Ladang claimed they heard a second explosion, which was so loud that the ground shuddered "like an earthquake".
Singapore police and military personnel mounted a massive land, sea and air search to locate the crash site following news of the hijack and subsequent crash. The crash scene was described as sheer horror as the remains of the victims and the debris of their personal belongings and a bit of the fuselage were strewn for about three-quarters of a mile around the swamp near Kampung Ladang.
On Dec 6, Communications Minister Tan Sri V. Manickasavagam tabled an emergency motion on the incident in Parliament. The Dewan Rakyat also observed a minute's silence.
The bodies of the victims were burnt beyond recognition and reportedly only some hand limbs were found on tree tops.
Their remains were not returned to family members but were interred in a mass burial at the Tanjung Kupang Memorial in Jalan Kebun Teh on Dec 9.
Names of the victims were carved on a commemorative monument.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said the Tanjung Kupang aircraft incident spurred the establishment of an Aviation Security Unit as part of the Airport Standard Division, which is responsible for safeguarding domestic and international civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference.