1977: MH 653 TRAGEDY (TG.KUPANG,JOHOR)

On 4 December 1977, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH653 (then operated by Malaysian Airline System) became the center of a tragic and enduring mystery. It was the first fatal crash for the airline and remains the deadliest aviation disaster to occur on Malaysian soil.

The Flight and Hijacking

The flight was a routine domestic service using a Boeing 737-200. It departed from Penang at 19:21, bound for Kuala Lumpur.

• The Incident: Around 19:54, as the plane was descending toward Kuala Lumpur, the crew reported an "unidentified hijacker" on board. Shortly after, the pilots were forced to divert the aircraft toward Singapore.
• The Cockpit Recordings: Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) data later revealed a tense atmosphere. The hijacker(s) reportedly shot both Captain G.K. Ganjoor and First Officer Karamuzaman Jali after an argument about the plane's fuel levels, leaving the aircraft "professionally uncontrolled."
• The Crash: At 20:36, the aircraft slammed into a swamp in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, at a near-vertical angle and very high speed. All 100 people on board (93 passengers and 7 crew) were killed instantly.

Notable Victims

The flight carried several high-profile individuals, which added to the national shock:

• Dato' Ali Haji Ahmad: The then Malaysian Agricultural Minister.
• Mario García Incháustegui: The Cuban Ambassador to Japan.
• Dato' Mahfuz Khalid: The Public Works Department Head.

Unresolved Mysteries

To this day, the identity and motives of the hijacker(s) remain unknown.

• Japanese Red Army (JRA): While some reports at the time suggested the involvement of the JRA (a far-left militant group active in the 70s), this was never officially confirmed.
• The Gunman: A popular theory suggests a bodyguard of one of the VIPs might have been involved, but no weapon was ever recovered from the muddy crash site.
• The Struggle: The CVR captured sounds of a struggle and someone other than the pilots trying to pull the plane up in its final seconds, but the aircraft's trajectory had become unrecoverable.

Legacy

A memorial stands today in Johor Bahru at the site of a mass burial for the victims. The tragedy led to the establishment of the Aviation Security Unit in Malaysia to prevent future occurrences.

Field	Details
Date	4 December 1977
Aircraft Type	Boeing 737-2H6 (Registration: 9M-MBD)
Flight Path	Penang $\rightarrow$ Kuala Lumpur (Subang) $\rightarrow$ Singapore (Paya Lebar)
Casualties	100 (93 passengers, 7 crew)
Crash Site	Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia ($1.3887^\circ\text{N}, 103.5314^\circ\text{E}$)
Investigation	Conducted by Malaysia DCA with help from Boeing and the NTSB

Google Gemini AI
18 January 2026: 11.36 p.m