Did Wikipedia remove the word "militant" from the 1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking article?

Yes. "militant" appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2. We saved the article's opening paragraph at 6 moments between 2005 and 2025, and the counts come from those saved copies.

When did the 1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking article stop using the word "militant"?

The word appeared 1 times in the opening at its peak in 2005. It is absent from today's opening, the part search engines quote and AI systems train on, checked against the live article on 2026-08-02.

How can I verify what Wikipedia's 1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking article used to say?

Each snapshot on this page links the Wikipedia revision it came from, so you can open their own history and compare. We also keep our own copy of the text, which stays readable if the article changes again.

What did Wikipedia remove from the 1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking article?

The opening as it read in 2005

At approximately 13:00 local time just as Flight 110 was preparing for taxi, 5 Palestinian gunmen made their way through the terminal, armed with automatic weapons and grenades .¹ The flight crew realized that some sort of shooting was occurring inside the terminal, Captain Andy Erbeck made an announcement that there was some commotion in the terminal building and for everyone to take cover. As the crew was trying to help the passengers to escape, the gunmen made their way through the tarmac and started throwing phosphorus bombs on the plane. Other gunmen took five Italian hostages into a Lufthansa 737 and killed an Italian customs agent, they later reunited onboard the Lufthansa 737 to escape by forcing the pilot to fly to Beirut . After Lebanon refused to let the plane land, it landed in Athens , where the terrorists demanded the release of two Arab militants. They killed a hostage and threw his body onto the tarmac . The plane flew to Damascus for fuel and food. The plane then flew to Kuwait , where the men released their hostages in return for passage to an unknown destination — probably to the Palestinian Liberation Organization . Thirty-three people were killed and more than 28 were injured. The hijackers where all members off the Fatah group, they were eventually arrested and found guilty. Investigations found that Abu Nidal masterminded the attack.²

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16934935.

The opening as it stood in 2010 10 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

On December 17, 1973, Pan Am Flight 110 was scheduled to fly from Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport in Rome to Beirut International Airport in Lebanon and then on to Tehran , Iran . At approximately 1:10 PM (13:10) local time, just as Flight 110 was preparing to taxi, between six and ten Palestinian terrorists made their way through the terminal building, armed with automatic weapons and grenades . The guerillas removed submachine guns from hand luggage bags and began firing throughout the terminal, shattering windows and killing two. Crew in the cockpit of the aircraft were able to observe travelers and airport employees in the building running for cover. Captain Erbeck announced over the plane's public address system that there was some commotion in the terminal and ordered all on board to get down on the floor. Several of the gunmen ran across the tarmac toward the Pan American jet, throwing at least two and as many as five phosphorus incendiary hand grenades through the open front and rear doors of the aircraft. The explosions knocked crew and passengers to the ground, and the cabin filled with thick, acrid smoke from the resulting fires. Flight attendants were able to open the emergency exit over the wing on one side of the plane; the other was obstructed by gunmen. The crew attempted to evacuate as many passengers as possible through the available exit, but twenty-nine passengers and Purser Diana Perez perished on the plane, including all eleven passengers in the first class section. Four Moroccan high officials heading to Iran for a visit, and Bonnie Erbeck, wife of the captain, were among the dead. Captain Andrew Erbeck survived the attack. Also killed were fourteen Aramco employees and employee family members.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 371216729.

The opening as it stood in 2015 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

The 1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking were a set of Palestinian terrorist attacks originating at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino International Airport in Rome , Italy, resulting in the deaths of 34 people. The attacks began with an airport terminal invasion and hostage-taking, followed by the firebombing of Pan American World Airways Flight 110. Pan Am Flight 110 was a scheduled Pan American World Airways flight from Rome, Italy to Tehran , Iran by way of Beirut , Lebanon. On 17 December 1973, shortly before takeoff , the airport terminal and the flight aircraft were invaded and the aircraft was set on fire by armed Palestinian gunmen, resulting in the deaths of thirty persons on the plane and two in the terminal. Following the aircraft invasion, the gunmen hijacked a Lufthansa airliner and killed two more people before being taken into custody by the State of Kuwait . College Park, Maryland: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2012 . College Park, Maryland: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2012 .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 662843412.

The opening as it stood in 2020

Terrorist attacks The 1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking were a set of Palestinian terrorist attacks originating at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino International Airport in Fiumicino , Lazio , Italy, resulting in the deaths of 34 people. The attacks began with an airport terminal invasion and hostage-taking, followed by the firebombing of Pan American World Airways Flight 110. Pan Am Flight 110 was a scheduled Pan American World Airways flight from Rome, Italy to Tehran , Iran by way of Beirut , Lebanon. On 17 December 1973, shortly before takeoff , the airport terminal and the flight aircraft were invaded and the aircraft was set on fire by armed Palestinian gunmen, resulting in the deaths of thirty persons on the plane and two in the terminal. Following the aircraft invasion, the gunmen hijacked Lufthansa Flight 303 and killed two more people before being taken into custody by the State of Kuwait . College Park, Maryland: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2012 . College Park, Maryland: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2012 .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 955816349.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Terrorist attacks Not to be confused with 1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks . In December 1973, a Palestinian terrorist group executed a series of attacks originating at Rome-Fiumicino Airport in Italy which resulted in the deaths of 34 people. The attacks began with an airport-terminal invasion and hostage-taking, followed by the firebombing of a Pan Am aircraft and the hijacking of a Lufthansa flight. Pan Am flight 110 was scheduled to depart from Rome, Italy and arrive in Tehran , Iran, by way of Beirut , Lebanon. On 17 December 1973, shortly before takeoff , the airport terminal and the flight aircraft were attacked and the aircraft was set on fire by armed Palestinian gunmen, resulting in the deaths of thirty persons on the plane and two in the terminal. Following the flight 110 attack, the gunmen hijacked Lufthansa Flight 303 and killed two more people. They ended up in the custody of the Kuwaiti authorities. College Park, Maryland: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2012 . College Park, Maryland: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2012 .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1167791307.

The opening as it stood in 2025

Terrorist attacks Not to be confused with 1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks . In December 1973, Fatah , a Palestinian military organization executed series of attacks originating at Rome-Fiumicino Airport in Italy which resulted in the deaths of 34 people. The attacks began with an airport-terminal invasion and hostage-taking, followed by the firebombing of a Pan Am aircraft and the hijacking of a Lufthansa flight. Pan Am Flight 110 was scheduled to depart from Rome, Italy and arrive in Tehran , Iran, by way of Beirut , Lebanon. On 17 December 1973, shortly before takeoff , the airport terminal and the flight aircraft were attacked and the aircraft was set on fire by armed Palestinian gunmen, resulting in the deaths of thirty persons on the plane and two in the terminal. Following the Flight 110 attack, the gunmen hijacked Lufthansa Flight 303 and killed two more people. They ended up in the custody of the Kuwaiti authorities. Since the public has never been provided with unambiguous, official proof as to which power or organization commissioned the attack, the real motives remain unknown to this day. However, this terrorist operation on Italian soil can be related to another event: on the very same December 17 date as the Fiumicino massacre, a hearing had been scheduled for the criminal trial of the terrorists, already detained in Italy, of the earlier failed terrorist attack in Ostia (Rome) . College Park, Maryland: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2012 . College Park, Maryland: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). 2012 .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1294007219. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.

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