Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708 was a Boeing 720-060B, due to operate an international scheduled Addis Ababa–Asmara–Athens–Rome–Paris passenger service, that experienced a hijacking attempt on 8 December 1972.

[1][2] Minutes after departing from Haile Selassie I International Airport bound for Paris, when the aircraft was flying at some 29,000 feet (8,800 m),[2] seven members[nb 1] of the Eritrean Liberation Front stood up and tried to gain control of the plane.

During the firefight a hand grenade that was armed by one of the hijackers was rolled down the aisle by a passenger.

[3] The grenade exploded in the rear part of the fuselage, some 6 inches (150 mm) off the plane's centreline, blowing a hole in the cabin floor and damaging or severing several controls of the aircraft, including those of throttle of two engines, of the rudder, and of the horizontal stabiliser.

[2][3] Despite this, the crew turned back the airplane to the airport of origin and managed to land it safely;[2] it sustained minor damages that were repaired later.