UTA flight 772, a DC-10-30, crashed in the Ténéré desert, Niger, following the detonation of an explosive device, killing all 170 occupants. Flight UT772 operated a service from Brazzaville, Congo, to Paris via N'Djamena, Chad. The aircraft took off from N'Djamena at 13:13 and climbed to a cruising altitude of FL350. At 13:59 an explosion occurred in a container at position 13R in the forward cargo hold. The explosion caused an overpressure in the cargo hold. Fragments of luggage, containers and pallets were blown away leading to holes on the left, right and underside of the fuselage. The cockpit then folded to the left side of the fuselage, and the aircraft broke up over the Ténéré desert. The explosive device was most probably hidden in baggage, placed aboard at Brazzaville. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack. France obtained a confession from someone who claimed to have been involved. This lead to six Libyans being charged and tried in absentia. One of the persons being charges was the brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi, and deputy head of Libyan intelligence. The motive would have been a retaliation for the French support of Chad in the Chadian-Libyan conflict (1978?1987).