"It was chaotic, like a war zone, in there. What Happened To Pan Am's Boeing 747 Aircraft? 51 relations. It shocked the world, and is the subject of a newly released film, but the surviving crew have until now remained silent. The deadlines set by the hijackers went unheeded as they pursued discussions with a local Pan Am representative and Pakistani police. Bhanot’s life and the events of the hijacking were dramatized in the film Neerja (2016). Response from a Pan Am 73 victim - In 1986 Safarini entered Pakistan via Bangkok to carry out the hijacking. Outside on the tarmac, Pan Am's Karachi director Viraf Doroga used a megaphone to begin negotiations with the hijackers. There were huge streaks of light breaking the darkness. A 16-hour standoff at Jinnah International Airport in Karāchi ended with 22 hostages dead and some 150 injured. "Many have criticised the pilots for leaving the rest of the crew behind, but I was relieved when I saw the pilots were gone, as we were all safer on the ground than we would be in the air. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Neerja Bhanot was senior flight purser on the Empress of the Seas, a Pan Am 747 hijacked at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi by four armed men from the Abu Nidal organization en route to Frankfurt and New York. In 2001, it appears that "arrangements" were made between the powers that be so that upon his release he would return to Jordon via Bangkok also. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Twenty passengers and crew, including two US citizens, were killed on September 5, 1986 when the hijackers took control of Frankfurt-bound Pan Am flight 73 for some 16 hours. Pan Am Flight 73 was a Pan American Airways Boeing-747 that was hijacked on 5 September 1986 by four Abu Nidal Organization terrorists on ground at Karachi, Pakistan.The flight, which took off from Sahar International Airport in Mumbai, India and landed at Jinnah International Airport in Pakistan for a stopover on a flight to Frankfurt Airport in West Germany, had 360 passengers … Pan Am flight 73 hijacking, takeover of a Pan American World Airways jet on September 5, 1986, by hijackers linked to the Abū Niḍāl Organization. Lead hijacker Zayd Hassan Safarini was released from prison in September 2001, but he was arrested by U.S. authorities days later. Hijackers were members of ANO an Abu Nidal organization, Al-quaeda of 1980s. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. In the chaos and darkness, at least three doors had been opened, though it is not clear by whom. Sunshine remained alert. They then went through the bags of passports they had collected, secretly sifting out any remaining American ones and tucking them under their seats or concealing them in their clothing. Outside, four gunmen had sped on to the tarmac in a van disguised as airport security. Neerja Bhanot was the senior most crew member on board the flight. Pan Am Flight 73, was a Pan American World Airways flight from Sahar International Airport in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, to Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany via Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Get latest Pan Am Flight 73 news updates & stories. "The hijack is far from over for me and my colleagues. Please support this channel by following me on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/allecibayMusic: When The Lights Came OnArtist: Kai … Having failed to find an American, the militants settled for someone British. Eventually the militants threatened that, as a pilot had not materialised, a passenger would be shot every 15 minutes. On September 5, 1986, Pan Am flight 73, a Boeing 747, departed Mumbai for New York with scheduled stops in Karāchi and Frankfurt. And in any case, at least the three pilots were safe. Massey had already exited down the slide just moments earlier, taking three unaccompanied children with him. These sentences are later commuted to life sentences. Some survivors of the ill-fated PanAm flight 73 recount the sordid memories of … Nearly 30 years after the hijack of Pan Am Flight 73 at Karachi airport, six of the plane's crew have spoken to the media for the first time. They saw another door had been deployed in automatic, which meant that the emergency slide was inflated. She died heroically, saving Pan Am passengers from terrorists on Sept. 5, 1986. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/event/Pan-Am-flight-73-hijacking. There were 380 passengers and 13 crew on board the aircraft. The 379 passengers and crew aboard were held hostage as the hijackers demanded a pilot to fly them to Cyprus, in order to free “friends” in prison there. Libya offered $2.7 billion USD in compensation to the families of the 270 victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and, in January 2004, agreed to pay $170 million to the families of the 17… On Sept. 5, 1986, New York-bound Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked by armed terrorists at Karachi airport in Pakistan in what would become one of the bloodiest hijackings of the 80s. Neerja is the story of the courageous Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers on the Pan Am flight 73 in 1986. The Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO) is a Palestinian militant group, now considered largely inactive. It was hijacked, while it was parked at Karachi airport. During their interviews with the BBC, they stressed that there was no single hero that day, that crew members not interviewed played an equally important role, and that they want survivors of terror attacks like 9/11 and Paris to know that life goes on. By about 9:00 pm, the plane’s onboard power supply had been exhausted. And screams.". There was a bloody end - 22 people killed and about 150 injured. Efforts by the hijackers to identify other Americans were frustrated by flight attendants who hid the passports of the remaining American passengers. Some of the hostages were able to force open a number of escape doors, and flight attendants helped the surviving passengers flee the aircraft. Once they finally got to the hospital, the chaos continued, Sherene says. A 16-hour standoff at Jinnah International Airport in Karāchi ended with 22 hostages dead and some 150 injured. 1988 - Five men are convicted in Pakistan for their roles in the hijacking. Neerja may still be alive if she'd been cared for right away," says Sunshine. Blog. The pilot picked up on her second attempt and she relayed the hijack code. The flight was carrying, among members of other nationalities, Indians, Germans, Americans, and Pakistanis. They let out a war cry," says Sunshine, "and began firing into the crowd. Approximately 390 victims on Pan Am Flight 73. Pan Am Flight 73, Scheduled to fly from Mumbai to New York, via Karachi and Frankfurt on Sep 5, 1986. And then another militant, his AK-47 and grenades in clear view, instructed Sunshine to take him to the captain. The door nearest the wing had been opened in manual, which meant that the emergency slide did not deploy. Senior flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, who was fatally wounded in the hijackers’ final assault, was posthumously recognized by the Indian government with the Ashoka Chakra, its highest peacetime award for gallantry. "My first instinct was to open the wing exit and slip out with as many passengers as I could, but I realised that this would leave the rest of the passengers vulnerable," then flight attendant Nupoor Abrol told BBC News. Updates? It had arrived from Mumbai and, had nothing gone wrong, would have departed for Frankfurt and onward to New York City. Omissions? Sonam will be seen playing the role of Neerja in … Within minutes they took over the control of the plane. It was blamed for a string of attacks in the 1970s and 80s, killing and wounding hundreds of people, The Pan Am crew were recognised with courage awards by the airline in 1986, the US Department of Justice in 2005 and the US attorney general in 2006. During the 17-hour ordeal, Neerja Bhanot would help the cockpit crew escape and ground the plane, hide the passports of passengers to protect their identities and nationalities, and open the emergency door to … Finden Sie professionelle Videos zum Thema Pan Am Flight 103 sowie B-Roll-Filmmaterial, das Sie für die Nutzung in Film, Fernsehen, Werbefilm sowie für die Unternehmenskommunikation lizenzieren können. All have coped in different ways. The FBI has released age-processed photos of four individuals who hijacked Pan Am Flight 73, an attack that led to the deaths of 20 including two Americans. Getty Images bietet exklusive rights-ready und erstklassige lizenzfreie analoge, HD- und 4K-Videos in höchster Qualität. "The stories may differ but the spirit remains the same.". The aircraft, Pan Am Flight 73 with 360 passengers on board had just arrived from Mumbai and was ready to depart Jinnah International Airport in Karachi for its destination- the United States. "That day, knowingly or unknowingly, we came together as a team and played our parts to the best of our ability," says Massey Casper, another steward. Shirin Khambholja, A PAN Am Flight 73 Survivor I have known Shirin aunty only formally until this moment when my partner told me that she was on the flight in which Neerja was shot dead. It was hijacked by four Palestinian Abu Nidal Organization terrorists who wanted to use the Boeing 747-121 to free prisoners in Syria and Israel. Neerja Bhanot was the only crew member to be awarded posthumous bravery awards by India and Pakistan, The Pakistani authorities released the leader of the hijackers, Zaid Hassan Abd Latif Safarini, in September 2001, but he was quickly recaptured by the US, Safarini is 12 years into his 160-year sentence in a US prison. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Sherene saw that mechanic Meherjee had been killed. Nearly 30 years after the hijack of Pan Am Flight 73 at Karachi airport, six of the crew speak to the media for the first time. He told the four men that the airport authorities were looking for pilots to fly them where they needed to go. The lights dimmed, and the hijackers forced the hostages to gather in the center of the plane. He joked and flirted, invited her to go with him to Cyprus, and promised to teach her to swim. Pan Am Flight. Directed by Ram Madhvani. "Neerja's life may have been saved were conditions in the hospital better.". Around four hours into the siege, the hijackers began trying to identify the Americans on board. The other hijackers were released from their Pakistani jail in 2008, against the wishes of India and the US. "They had lost patience. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Pan Am flight 73 flew from Mumbai to the U.S. with a stop in Karachi, Pakistan on September 5, 1986. She hopes that, in speaking out, "we can all connect through our survival stories and form a fabric of power and strength going forward". Corrections? From Panam. Creating connections between content and mission Nupoor saw them shoot near the feet of a colleague, shouting at her to lock the door. Nupoor tried to comfort the passengers around her while her colleague Dilip Bidichandani took round sandwiches and Neerja distributed water. He repeatedly led either Sunshine or Sherene at gunpoint up to the upper deck cockpit, using them as human shields while he peeked round them to have a look outside. Meanwhile, inside the plane, 29-year-old American passenger Rajesh Kumar was pulled out of his seat and made to kneel in front of one of the open doors, with a gun to his head. Sunshine and Dilip were also on the wing, but in the darkness couldn't gauge the distance of the drop. I wanted to give the pilots time to escape in case they were still in the process of climbing down the ropes outside the plane. A biopic drama on the life of the courageous Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers on the Pan Am flight 73 in 1986. Also known as Fatah-The Revolutionary Council, it is listed as a terrorist group by the United States, Israel and the European Union. Each is sentenced to death. 30 years after Neerja Bhanot died saving passengers of Pan Am Flight 73, not much is known about the hijackers. Neerja Bhanot was a senior flight purser for Pan Am who was killed while saving passengers from heavily armed terrorists on board the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 at Karachi airport on 5 September 1986. Some of us, passengers and crew alike, are still struggling with the skeletons of the past, trying to fix the puzzle of incidents, sequences, people who were involved in the chains of events," says Nupoor. Explore Pan Am Flight 73 photos and videos on India.com They also shed light on the last few hours of Neerja Bhanot, their colleague who died in the attack and is the subject of the new film. Neerja had been shot in her hip and was bleeding heavily, but was conscious. Thank you, teachers, for what you do; April 29, 2021. Sherene, and another colleague Ranee Vaswani, were the last two hostages to leave the plane. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. "I didn't see medical facilities at the airport besides minor first aid… The hospital was several kilometres away from the airport," says Dilip. "This changed everything. Although the hijackers had closed the doors and lowered the shutters earlier, the air conditioning and lights had been on. Mike Thexton, a passenger on the plane, describes the act in his book What Happened to The Hippy Man? © 2021 BBC. Aside from one sharp kick, he says, he was not physically mistreated and eventually escaped with others in the later chaos. The hijacking of Pan American Airline's Flight 73 remains, even after two decades, one of the most brazen and horrific in the history of aviation terrorism. The hijacker didn't seem to know much about the plane so he didn't look for it," says Sunshine. Claim: During the September 1986 hijacking of Pan Am flight 73, flight attendant Neerja Bhanot gathered American passports and hid them in order to protect the passengers, and single-handedly evacuated pa… The Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked while on the ground in Karachi on September 5, 1986. On September 5, 1986, Pan Am flight 73, a The crew of Pan Am flight 73 saved countless lives by demonstrating remarkable bravery and composure in the face of mortal danger. Meherjee, the mechanic, told Safarini that the emergency power would last 15 minutes or so before the aircraft would be plunged into darkness. The Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO), which they were members of, was opposed to US and Israeli policy in the Middle East. - Simple Flying Dilip Bidichandani, another steward, is adamant that the pilots' escape actually saved more lives. Two of the six remain in the industry. It showed they were ruthless killers," says Sunshine. It was just before 06:00 and Pan Am Flight 73, on a stopover in Karachi from Mumbai, was scheduled to continue on to Frankfurt, en route to New York. Acting quickly, flight attendants alerted the bridge, and the flight deck crew escaped through an emergency exit in the cockpit. They didn't discuss the hijack. He said he was looking for American fighter planes," says Sherene. In 2008 US congress passes Libyan claims resolution act and normalizes relations with Libya . Air Marshal Khurshid Anwar Mirza, director of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, speaking at a press conference during the Pan Am flight 73 hijacking, September 5, 1986. Twenty-one hostages were killed, and scores were injured. The aircraft ‘Pan Am Flight 73’ with 360 passengers on board was hijacked by four heavily armed terrorists. They pushed her down first, then jumped out themselves. Pan Am flight 73 hijacking, takeover of a Pan American World Airways jet on September 5, 1986, by hijackers linked to the Abū Niḍāl Organization. The gunmen's plan was to force the pilots to fly them to Cyprus and Israel, where other members of their militant group were incarcerated on terror charges. It was ready to depart from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi to United States. To enforce the demand, the men selected and executed an American citizen, Rajesh Kumar. Shortly thereafter, the plane went completely dark as the emergency power ran out, and the hijackers, thinking that the plane was being assaulted by security forces, fired on the hostages with machine guns and grenades. Fellow attendant Sunshine Vesuwala saw one of the hijackers grab a colleague, Neerja Bhanot, and put a gun to her head. Safarini, mid-joke, caught her and immediately pointed the gun at her head. "On occasion he would hold my hair, force my face to the window and ask what I could see on the tarmac. The flight … as "extremely brave, selfless and clever". Safarini was still on board when Pakistan's security forces entered the plane. Sonam Kapoor’s Neerja has brought alive memories of the braveheart Neerja Bhanot. Three of the hijackers were fleeing the airport when they were caught by airport security. It was a short jump to reach the wing of the plane. Sherene says she knew then that time was running out. O n the morning of September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 landed in Karachi. Neerja's colleagues say she was still alive when she arrived at Karachi's Jinnah Hospital. When no pilot materialised within the hour, Mr Kumar was shot and kicked out of the plane. In August 2003, Libya accepted responsibility for "the actions of its officials" in respect of the bombing Pan Am Flight 103, but was silent on the question of the Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking. After a short break all the Flight 73 crew returned to Pan Am for at least a few years. Sherene and Sunshine were the cabin crew who spent the most time with lead hijacker Zaid Hassan Abd Latif Safarini. When the lights did go out, all the flight attendants and passengers were in the middle section of the cabin, several seated on the ground in the aisles and near the doors. Pan Am Flight #73 United States Attorney's Office 555 Fourth Street, NW Room 1810 Washington, D.C. 20530 U.S.A. Or, email the information requested in the form to USADC.PanAm73@usdoj.gov. Neerja Bhanot was senior flight purser on the Empress of the Seas, a Pan Am 747 hijacked at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi by four armed men from the Abu Nidal organization en route to Frankfurt and New York. At around 6:00 am passengers were boarding in Karāchi when four heavily armed men dressed as security personnel stormed the plane, firing shots in the air. Pan Am Flight 73 was a hijacking in Pakistian on September 5, 1986. Then, when all the passengers were off the wing, the crew did something remarkable. When passengers were boarding the plane at Karachi Airport, four armed men disguised as airport security officials stormed in with guns and grenades. If you know of anyone who was present during the hijacking, or a loved one of someone present during the hijacking, please let them know about this web site and the opportunity … Sunshine called Dilip over to help, and the two carried Neerja to the emergency slide. "I noticed immediately that the escape devices in the cockpit had been deployed. Flight was enroute from Mumbai to USA, with stop overs in Karachi and Frankfurt. "I may be biased but I feel that day proved that the flight attendants on board were some of the best in the industry.". He pled guilty to 95 charges, including murder, air piracy, and terrorism, on December 16, 2003, and was sentenced to 160 years in prison. The flight, carrying among members of other nationalities, Indians, Germans, Americans, and Pakistanis, was supposed to depart for Frankfurt and onward to New York City. Unfortunately the flight was hijacked by four heavily armed terrorists while it was parked at Karachi airport. September 5, 1986 - Hijacking of Pan Am flight #73 in Karachi, Pakistan. I just knew I have to speak to her about it and that was that. Flight attendant Sherene Pavan, who was out of sight of the militants, heard the commotion, reached for the intercom and pressed the emergency number to the cockpit. April 30, 2021. They also want people to know they dearly miss their colleagues Neerja Bhanot and Meherjee Kharas. The assault ended only when the gunmen ran out of ammunition, and members of the flight crew reentered the aircraft to aid the wounded as three of the four hijackers fled. The hijackers also threatened to blow up the aircraft with all passengers on board. While they relayed the events to a private FBI meeting a week after the hijack, and to a parole hearing for the lead hijacker in 2005, this is the first time they have shared details with the media. "Survivors [of such atrocities] are living each day with the memories," says Madhvi. Sunshine, Madhvi Bahuguna and another flight attendant began collecting passports, quietly avoiding collecting any that were American. Read about our approach to external linking. Read about our approach to external linking. Twenty people killed, more than 100 injured. Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked at Karachi airport in Pakistan on September 5, 1986. … They are breaking this silence now, they say, because they want to honour and acknowledge the vital roles played by all on board, most of whom are not known to the public. Neerja was only 22. Libya has been accused of sponsoring the hijacking, as well as carrying out the bombings of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 and UTA Flight 772in 1989. Here’s What Happened to the Hijackers of Neerja’s Pan Am Flight 73. The gunmen positioned themselves on either side of the aisles. "The pilots evacuating the airplane… meant that we were not at the mercy of the terrorists, who could have instructed the plane to be flown into a building, or even blown up whilst in flight.". Mike was made to sit on the floor, and like the other passengers, keep his hands above his head. The men entered the Boeing 747, firing shots into the air. Nupoor and Madhvi slipped off the edge of the wing, fracturing bones as they hit the tarmac around 20 feet (6 metres) below. Remembering Neerja Bhanot on hijacked Pan Am Flight 73. They climbed back in through the door they had come through, and along with Sherene and another colleague, assisted and redirected passengers to the inflated slide. Three lives would be saved.". All four hijackers were eventually apprehended by Pakistani police and imprisoned. She died heroically, saving Pan Am passengers from terrorists on Sept. 5, 1986. I noticed that the evacuation hatch on the ceiling of the cockpit was open, but I pretended not to. "Neerja was put into the ambulance without a stretcher.".