What happened
On December 23, 1980, Saudia Flight 162 was operating a scheduled passenger route connecting Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Karachi, Pakistan, with an intermediate stop in Dhahran. The aircraft involved was a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. During the flight, while traversing international waters above the region off Qatar, the plane encountered a sudden and uncontrolled loss of cabin pressure at high altitude.
The rapid decompression occurred without prior warning to the crew or passengers. As the cabin environment became uninhabitable due to the drop in pressure and temperature, two children among the 271 individuals on board succumbed to the conditions. The remaining occupants survived the immediate incident, though the event constituted a severe aviation safety failure.
Investigation
The available records indicate that the primary factor was the uncontrolled decompression itself. No further details regarding the mechanical failure or specific investigative findings are provided in the source material.
Findings
The incident resulted in 2 fatalities, specifically children, out of a total of 271 people on the aircraft. The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar was the aircraft type involved. The event is categorized as an uncontrolled decompression incident over international waters.