Pan Am Flight 73

Pan Am Flight 73
N656PA, plane involved in hijacking, seen in January 1985 at Hamburg Airport
Hijacking
Date September 5, 1986
Summary Hijacking
Site Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 747-121
Aircraft name Clipper Empress of the Seas
Operator Pan American World Airways
Registration N656PA
Flight origin Sahar International Airport
Mumbai, India
Stopover Jinnah International Airport
Karachi, Pakistan
Last stopover Frankfurt am Main Airport
Frankfurt am Main, West Germany
Destination John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport
New York, United States
Passengers 360
Crew 19
Fatalities At least 21[1]
Injuries 120

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.

On September 5, 1986, the Boeing 747-121 serving the flight was hijacked while on the ground at Karachi by four armed Palestinian men of the Abu Nidal Organization. The aircraft, with 360 passengers on board, had just arrived from Bombay.[2] A grand jury later concluded that the militants were planning to use the hijacked plane to pick up Palestinian prisoners in both Cyprus and Israel.[3]

Forty-three passengers were injured or killed during the hijacking, including nationals from India, the United States, Pakistan, and Mexico. All the hijackers were arrested and sentenced to death in Pakistan. However, the sentences were later commuted to life in prison. Neerja Bhanot, head attendant on the flight, posthumously received India's highest peacetime award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra Award for her efforts to save passengers' lives during the course of the hijacking.[4]

Hijacking at Karachi, Pakistan

On September 5, 1986, passengers were boarding the Frankfurt-bound aircraft in Karachi. A subsequent CIA investigation revealed that the hijack occurred despite the presence of armed agents near the aircraft. The four hijackers were dressed as Karachi airport security guards and were armed with assault rifles, pistols, grenades, and plastic explosive belts. At about 06:00 local time, the hijackers drove a van that had been modified to look like an airport security vehicle through a security checkpoint up to one of the boarding stairways to Pan Am Flight 73.

The hijackers stormed up the stairways into the plane, fired shots from an automatic weapon, and seized control of the aircraft. Two of the flight attendants were able to alert the cockpit crew using the intercom, allowing the pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer to flee through an overhead hatch in the cockpit,[5] preventing the hijackers from forcing the plane to takeoff. The plane was effectively grounded at the airport.

Within a short time after seizing control of the aircraft, hijacker Zayd Hassan Abd Al-Latif Masud Al Safarini realized that the cockpit crew had escaped and therefore he would be forced to negotiate with officials. First and business class passengers were ordered to go towards the back of the plane. At the same time, passengers at the back of the plane were ordered forward. Since the plane was nearly full, passengers sat down in the aisles, galleys and door exits. At approximately 10:00, Safarini went through the plane and arrived at the seat of Rajesh Kumar, a 29-year-old Indian American resident of California who had recently been naturalized as an American citizen. Safarini ordered Kumar to come to the front of the aircraft, to kneel at the front doorway of the aircraft, and to face the front of the aircraft with his hands behind his head. Safarini negotiated with officials, in particular Viraf Daroga, the head of Pan Am's Pakistan operation, stating that if the crew was not sent on the plane within 15 minutes, then Kumar would be shot. Shortly thereafter, Safarini became impatient with the officials and grabbed Kumar and shot him in the head in front of witnesses both on and off the aircraft. Safarini heaved Kumar out of the door onto the tarmac below. Pakistani personnel on the tarmac reported that Kumar was still breathing when he was placed in an ambulance, but he was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital in Karachi.

Safarini joined the hijackers and ordered the flight Purser Neerja Bhanot to collect the passports of all passengers. She complied with this request. During the collection of the passports, believing passengers with American passports would be singled out by the hijackers, Bhanot and the other air-hostesses under her command proceeded to hide some of the American passports under seats, and dumped the rest down a rubbish chute.[6]

After the passports had been collected Bhanot came onto the intercom and asked for Michael John Thexton, a British citizen, to come to the front of the plane. He went through the curtain into the front of the plane where he came face to face with Safarini, who was holding Thexton's passport. He asked Thexton if he was a soldier and if he had a gun, Thexton replied "No". He ordered Thexton onto his knees. Safarini told the officials that if anyone came near the plane that he would go on to kill another passenger. Viraf Daroga told Safarini that there was a crew member on board who was able to use the cockpit radio and asked him to negotiate through radio. Safarini went back to Thexton and asked him whether he would like a drink of water, to which Thexton replied "Yes." Safarini also asked Thexton if he was married, and claimed he did not like all this violence and killing and said that the Americans and Israelis had taken over his country and left him unable to lead a proper life. One of the hijackers ordered Thexton back through the plane to a seat.

The hijack stalemate continued on into the night. During the stalemate, flight Purser Neerja Bhanot secretly removed a page from her manual that explained all the procedures for the 3R aircraft door and placed it inside of a magazine and handed it to the passenger near the door. She instructed him to "read" the magazine and then close it up, but refer to it later if necessary. This page included information on how to open the exit door and deploy the slide down to the apron. About 21:00 the auxiliary power unit shut down, all lighting turned off, and emergency lights came on. Passengers at the front were ordered toward the back, while passengers at the back were ordered forward. Since the aisles were already full of passengers, those passengers standing just sat down.

With the plane out of power and sitting in near darkness, a hijacker at the 1L door said a prayer and then aimed to shoot at the explosive belt another hijacker, standing by the 1R door, was wearing. The intent was to cause an explosion massive enough to kill all passengers and crew on board, as well as themselves. Since the cabin was dark, the hijacker missed, causing only a small detonation. Immediately the hijackers began shooting their weapons into the cabin at passengers and attempted to throw their grenades. Yet again the lack of light caused them to not pull pins fully and to create only small explosions. Ultimately it was the bullets that created the most damage, since each bullet would bounce off aircraft cabin surfaces and create crippling shrapnel. Bhanot opened one of the doors. If she wanted, she could have jumped out and run but she decided not to and instead started helping the passengers to escape. An airhostess at the 3L door opened the door; although the slide did not deploy, several passengers and crew jumped down the fifteen feet or 6m/20 ft.[7] to the tarmac. The passenger that was near 3R had read the page the flight attendant earlier gave him and was able to successfully open that door. It was the only door opened to have the slide deploy. Ultimately this slide allowed for more passengers to evacuate safely and without injuries. Neerja Bhanot was injured in the shooting while shielding three children from the bullets of the hijacker and died subsequently. Twenty passengers were killed and over a hundred were injured.

Assault

Pakistan quickly sent in the Pakistan Army's Special Services Group (SSG) commandos and Pakistan Rangers were put on high-alert. The 17-hour long hijacking came to an end when the hijackers opened fire on the passengers at 21:30 Pakistan Standard Time, but soon ran out of ammunition, resulting in some passengers fleeing the aircraft through the aircraft's emergency exits. The SSG responded by storming the aircraft and seizing the hijackers. The SSG commando unit was headed by Brigadier Tariq Mehmood and the Shaheen Company of the SSG's 1st Commando Battalion carried out the operation.[8]

Passengers

The 381 total passengers plus crew on Pan Am 73 were citizens of 14 different countries. Citizens of India represented roughly 26% of the people on board the flight, and 28% of those killed.

Nationalities

NationalityPassengersCrewTotalVictims
 Australia4042
 Belgium2020
 Canada300300
 Denmark8082
 France4150
 Germany813840
 India9189912
 Ireland5054
 Italy2702713
 Mexico8082
 Pakistan440443
 Sweden2020
 United Kingdom1541911
 United States440442
Total3651638122

Aftermath

Trial and sentencing

On July 6, 1988, five Palestinian men were convicted in Pakistan for their roles in the hijacking and murders and sentenced to death: Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Safarini, Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz al-Turki, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, Muhammad Abdullah Khalil Hussain ar-Rahayyal, and Muhammad Ahmed al-Munawar.[9] The sentences were later commuted to life in prison.

Safarini was handed over to the FBI from a prison in Pakistan in September 2001.[10] He was taken to the United States where on May 13, 2005 he was sentenced to a 160-year prison term.[9] At the plea proceeding, Safarini admitted that he and his fellow hijackers committed the offenses as members of the Abu Nidal Organization, also called the ANO, a designated terrorist organization.

The other four prisoners have escaped from Adiala jail Rawalpindi, reportedly in January 2008.[9]

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 772 in 1989.

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.[11] Libya offered $2.7 billion USD in compensation to the families of the 270 victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and,[11] in January 2004, agreed to pay $170 million to the families of the 170 UTA victims.[12] The seven American UTA victims' families refused the offer and instead filed a claim for $2.2 billion against Libya. From 2004 to 2006 the U.S. and UK opened up relations with Libya, including removing sanctions and removing the country as a sponsor of terrorism.

In June 2004, a volunteer group of families and victims from the incident, Families from Pan Am Flight 73, was formed to work toward a memorial for those killed in the incident, to seek the truth behind this terrorist attack, and to hold those responsible for it accountable. On April 5, 2006, the law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP, representing the surviving passengers, estates and family members of the hijacking victims, announced it was filing a civil suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking $10 billion in compensatory damages, plus unspecified punitive damages, from Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi and the five convicted hijackers. The lawsuit alleged Libya provided the Abu Nidal Organization with material support and also ordered the attack as part of a Libyan-sponsored terrorist campaign against American, European and Israeli interests.[13]

British media that was critical of normalisation of relations between Gaddafi and the West reported in March 2004 (days after Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Tripoli) that Libya was behind the hijacking.[14]

As of September 2015 about $700 million of funds that Libya gave the USA to settle claims related to Libyan sponsored terrorism has not been distributed to families of victims who were Indian passport holders.[15]

Reward and reported killing of accused

Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Safarini was extradited to the U.S. by the Government of Pakistan.[10] He is serving his 160-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana.

On December 3, 2009, the FBI, in coordination with the State Department, announced a $5M reward for information that leads to the capture of each of the four remaining hijackers of Pan Am 73, who were reported to have been released from prison in Pakistan in 2008.[9]

One of the four, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, was reported killed in a drone strike on January 9, 2010, in Pakistan.[16] His death was never confirmed and he remains on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list and the State Department's Rewards for Justice list.[17][18]

In hopes of generating new leads for the alleged hijackers the FBI released new age-progressed images on January 11, 2018. The case is still under investigation by the Washington Field Office of the Bureau.[19]

Aircraft

The aircraft was a four-engined Boeing 747-121 delivered to Pan Am on 18 June 1971, with registration N656PA[20] and named Clipper Live Yankee by the airline. It was later renamed and at the time of the incident was named Clipper Empress of the Seas. After the incident the aircraft was renamed "Clipper New Horizons". Pan Am sold the aircraft to Evergreen International in 1988 and then leased it back. The aircraft was returned by Pan Am to Evergreen in April 1991. Evergreen scrapped the aircraft the next month.

The film Neerja was released in 2016 depicting the hijacking and the actions of all the flight attendants on the aircraft. Neerja Bhanot was the Senior Flight Purser and the youngest awardee of the highest Indian bravery award, Ashoka Chakra. She also received the United States Special Courage award and the Pakistani Tamgha-e-Insaaniyat.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Jordanian Hijacker Sentenced in D.C. for 1986 Hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 as Victims from Around the World Recount Horrors" (Press release). Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2004-05-14. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  2. ↑ "Pan Am Flight-73 alleged hijacker 'killed' in drone attack in Pakistan". asiantribune.com. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "United States of America v. Wadoud Muhammad et al Indictment" (PDF). justice.gov. United States Department of Justice. 2001-06-11. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  4. ↑ "24 yrs after Pan Am hijack, Neerja Bhanot killer falls to drone". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Pan Am Flight 73: victims recount horrors Archived 2016-12-26 at the Wayback Machine. DOJ May 13, 2004
  6. ↑ Thexton, Mike (2006). What happened to the hippy man (1st ed.). Great Britain: Lanista Partners Ltd. pp. 48–50. ISBN 0-9553185-0-5. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Mohan, Megha (31 March 2016). "Inside a hijack: The unheard stories of the Pan Am 73 crew" – via www.bbc.com.
  8. ↑ "BBC ON THIS DAY - 5 - 1986: Karachi hijack ends in bloodshed". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Act of Terror: Seeking Information Leading to Those Responsible: Pan Am Flight 73 Hijacking". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Suspect in 1986 hijacking brought to U.S. for trial". CNN. October 1, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Independent Newspapers Online. "Libya takes blame for Lockerbie bombing". Independent Online. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Smith, Craig S. (10 January 2004). "Libya Will Pay $170 Million In Bombing of French Airliner" – via NYTimes.com.
  13. ↑ CROWELL & MORING LLP (5 April 2006). "Victims of September 1986 Hijacking of Pan Am 73 File US$10 Billion... -- WASHINGTON, April 5 /PR Newswire UK/ --". prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  14. ↑ Revealed: Gaddafi's air massacre plot The Times March 28, 2004
  15. ↑ "1986 Pan Am survivors pin hopes on Modi". Times of India. 29 September 2015.
  16. ↑ U.S. airstrike reportedly kills terrorist, Los Angeles Times, 2010-01-16
  17. ↑ https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/jamal-saeed-abdul-rahim
  18. ↑ https://rewardsforjustice.net/english/jamal_rahim.html
  19. ↑ "New Images Released in 1986 Hijacking Case". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  20. ↑ "FAA Registry (N656PA)". Federal Aviation Administration.

Further reading

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