[1] On 29 June 2012, an Embraer E190 operating the flight, took off from Hotan at 12:25 pm; within ten minutes, six ethnic Uyghur men, one of whom allegedly professed his motivation as jihad, announced their intent to hijack the aircraft, according to multiple witnesses.

[3] China has maintained a good aviation safety record, although there has been a history of security threats to aircraft in Xinjiang, mirroring the general violence in the region.

[5][7] The last successful airplane hijacking in China was Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 on 2 October 1990, where a Hunanese man armed with explosives attempted to defect to Taiwan.

[6][10] Video surveillance showed them feigning disability to bypass airport security; one suspect hid his aluminum pipe weapon inside his crutch.

[7] One of the suspects said they aimed to fly the aircraft out of the country to wage holy war;[11] China has previously raised concerns that Uyghur militants are linking up to their Islamist counterparts in Pakistan.

[5] When the captain heard confirmation from a flight attendant that the events in the cabin were indeed an attempted hijacking and not just a fight, he turned the aircraft back to Hotan.

[14] In addition, two of the hijackers (identified as Ababaykeri Ybelayim and Mametali Yvsup) died from injuries on board;[15] another two of the four detained were taken to the hospital due to self-mutilation.

[20] Two days later, 5 July, Xinjiang officials announced new airport security measures, which included the requirement that passengers present hospital-issued certificates before bringing crutches onto an aircraft.

[13] The Civil Aviation Administration of China reported on 6 July that an investigation found Hotan airport staff not guilty of dereliction of duty.

[21] Alem Musa, who also participated in the hijacking attempt but did little compared to the others, also pled guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment by Intermediate People's Court in Hotan Prefecture.