Pan Am Flight 73

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox Airliner accident Pan Am Flight 73 was a Pan American World Airways flight from Bombay, India, to New York City, United States, with scheduled stops in Karachi, Pakistan, and Frankfurt, West Germany.

On September 5, 1986, the Boeing 747-121 serving the flight was hijacked while on the ground at Karachi by four armed Palestinian terrorists of the Abu Nidal Organization. The aircraft, with 360 passengers on board, had just arrived from Bombay.<ref name="asiantribune.com">Template:Cite news</ref> A grand jury later concluded that the militants were planning to use the hijacked airliner to pick up Palestinian prisoners in both Cyprus and Israel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

More than twenty passengers were 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. Senior Purser Neerja Bhanot was shot dead and posthumously received four awards: India's highest peacetime award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra Award, the United States Special Courage award, and two awards from Pakistan, which were Tamgha-e-Pakistan, the fourth highest civil award from Pakistan for her efforts to save passengers' lives, and the Nishan-e-Pakistan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Hijacking at Karachi

Pan Am Flight 73 originated in Mumbai and stopped at the Karachi airport for a scheduled stopover at 4:30Template:Spacesa.m. It was carrying 394 passengers and 9 infants, an American flight crew and 13 Indian flight attendants. A total of 109 passengers disembarked at Karachi. The first busload of fresh passengers from Karachi had barely reached the aircraft standing on the tarmac when the hijacking began to unfold.<ref name=IndiaToday>Dilip Bobb, M. Rahman, Zahid Hussain, and Ramindar Singh. Pan Am hijack in Karachi: Pakistan security forces handling of situation raises questions, India Today, 1986-09-30.</ref>

The four hijackers were dressed as Karachi airport security guards and were armed with assault rifles, pistols, grenades, and plastic explosive belts. The hijackers drove a van that had been modified to look like an airport security vehicle, fitted with a siren and flashing lights. They went through a security checkpoint up to one of the boarding stairways to Pan Am Flight 73.Template:Sfn They rushed up the ramp, firing shots into the air. Another two hijackers joined the first two men, one of them dressed in Pakistani shalwar kameez and carrying a briefcase full of grenades. There was also gunfire outside the aircraft reported around this time, which killed two Kuwait Airways ground staff working on an aircraft nearby. The hijackers fired shots at the feet of a flight attendant forcing him to close the door. Another flight attendant, Neerja Bhanot, was out of sight of the hijackers and relayed the hijack code to the cockpit crew, who subsequently exited the aircraft through the overhead emergency hatch, via the Inertial Reel Escape Device.Template:EfnTemplate:Efn

After about 40 minutes from the landing of Flight 73, the airliner came under the control of the hijackers. The escape of the pilots immobilized the aircraft.Template:Efn<ref name=IndiaToday/><ref name=crew/>Template:Sfn<ref name=FBI>Template:Cite web</ref>

The four hijackers were later identified as Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Safarini (Safarini, alias "Mustafa"), Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim (alias "Fahad"), Muhammad Abdullah Khalil Hussain ar-Rahayyal ("Khalil"), and Muhammad Ahmed Al-Munawar (alias "Mansoor"). Pakistani authorities also identified another accomplice Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz al-Turki<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> ("Hafiz") and arrested him a week later.Template:Sfn<ref>United States of America vs. Zaid Hassan Abd Latif Safarini: Rule 11 Proffer of Facts, US Department of Justice, November 12, 2003.</ref>

Demand for pilot

Within a short time after seizing control of the aircraft, the lead hijacker 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 aircraft 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 Kenya-born Indian resident of Huntington Beach, 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 30 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 ramp below. Pakistani personnel on the ramp 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.Template:Citation needed

Safarini joined the hijackers and ordered flight attendants Bhanot, Sunshine Vesuwala,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Madhvi Bahuguna<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> to begin collecting passports. They complied with this request. During the collection of the passports, believing passengers with American passports would be singled out by the hijackers, the flight attendants proceeded to hide some of the American passports under seats, and dumped the rest down a rubbish chute.<ref name="google">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Primary source inline

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. Thexton was returning home to England after visiting Pakistan for a personal pilgrimage to Broad Peak, where his brother, a keen mountaineer, had died of altitude sickness in 1983, and boarded the flight in Karachi to disembark at the Frankfurt stop and connect to another Pan Am flight for London.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="google"/>

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. One of the hijackers ordered Thexton to return to his seat.Template:Citation needed

Thexton had the opportunity to ask his hijacker about this experience forty years later, and ask why he had not been shot. The hijacker explained that when Thexton had told him that his brother had died and he didn't want to leave his mother childless that the hijacker had sympathy for him and let him go.<ref name="Telegraph">Template:Cite news</ref>

The hijack stalemate continued on into the night. During the stalemate, Dick MelhartTemplate:Who was positioned by the door and was able to unlock it when the firing started.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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; however, passengers who stood up in preparation of complying with the hijackers' request saw that the aisles were full of passengers (and thus impassable), and simply sat back down again.Template:Citation needed

With the plane out of power and sitting in near darkness, a hijacker at the L1 door said a prayer and then aimed to shoot at the explosive belt worn by another hijacker near the door. The intent was to cause an explosion massive enough to kill all passengers and crew on board, as well as themselves, but this failed. Immediately the hijackers began shooting their weapons into the cabin at passengers and threw grenades.<ref name=crew>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ultimately it was the bullets that created the most damage since each bullet would bounce off aircraft cabin surfaces and create crippling shrapnel. An air hostess at the L3 door opened the door; although the slide did not deploy, several passengers and crew jumped down the 20Template:Nbsfeet (Template:Convert)<ref name=crew/> to the ramp.

Dick Melhart was able to unlatch the door at R3 which was the exit over the wing; passengers jumped out from this exit. A grounds staff trapped on board during the ordeal was responsible for opening the R4 door, which was the only door armed to deploy the emergency slide. Ultimately this slide allowed for more passengers to evacuate safely and without injuries. Bhanot and the other crew members bravely escorted as many passengers as they could first. The other crew survived, but Bhanot was murdered by the hijackers.<ref name="indiatimes">Template:Cite web</ref>

Rescue assault

The Pakistani unit responsible for retaking the plane was the Special Service Group (SSG) which was led by Brig. Tariq Mehmood. The SSG Commandos closed in on the aircraft after the power unit went out but did not begin storming the plane until they heard shots fired from within the plane. By the time the commandos reached the plane, many passengers had already begun escaping.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

There are some inconsistencies regarding the Pakistani Army's reported response to the generator dying. This confusion was later attributed to a rush by officials to take credit for a successful assault on the hijackers followed by a walking-back of statements once the death toll of the tragedy became clear.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Passengers

The 365 total passengers plus crew on Pan Am 73 were citizens of 14 different countries. Citizens of India represented roughly 27% of the people on board the flight, and 24% of those killed. Citizens of three Template:NowrapTemplate:TspIndia, Italy, and the United Template:NowrapTemplate:Tsptogether represented the bulk (71%) of those killed.

Nationalities

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Nationality Passengers Crew Total Victims
Australia 4 0 4 2
Belgium 2 0 2 0
Canada 30 0 30 0
Denmark 8 0 8 2
France 4 1 5 0
India 91 8 99 12
Ireland 5 0 5 4
Italy 27 0 27 13
Mexico 8 0 8 0
Pakistan 44 0 44 0
Sweden 2 0 2 0
United Kingdom 15 4 19 11
United States 44 0 44 2
West Germany 81 3 84 0
Total 365 16 381 51

Cockpit crew

  • Captain William Allen "Bill" Kianka (born June 1, 1934), Age 52, He served in the U.S. Navy from 1952 to 1954 and fought in one tour in the Korean War, and was serving with Pan Am as a Captain since 1954.
  • First Officer Conway Tehan Dodge Sr. (born May 30, 1933), Age 53, He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1951 to 1955 and fought in two tours in the Korean War, and was serving with Pan Am as a First Officer since 1955.
  • Flight Engineer John Joseph Ridgway (born September 25, 1940), Age 45, He was serving with Pan Am as a Flight Engineer since 1962.

Aftermath

Trial and sentencing

On July 6, 1988, the 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.<ref name="StateDept">Template:Cite web</ref> The sentences were later commuted to life in prison.

According to a CNN report, Safarini was handed over to the FBI from a prison in Pakistan in September 2001.<ref name="StateDept"/><ref name="cnn">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ET1"/> He was taken to the United States where on May 13, 2005, he was sentenced to a 160-year prison term.<ref name="StateDept"/> At the plea proceeding, Safarini admitted that he and his fellow hijackers committed the offences as members of the Abu Nidal Organization, also called the ANO, a designated terrorist organization.

The other four prisoners were deported by Pakistani authorities to Palestinian Authority (PA) against the wishes of India and United States in 2008.<ref name="ET1"/><ref name="Geo News">Template:Cite web</ref>

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" for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, but was silent on the question of the Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking.<ref name="iol">Template:Cite news</ref> Libya offered US$2.7 billion in compensation to the families of the 270 victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and,<ref name="iol"/> in January 2004, agreed to pay $170 million to the families of the 170 victims of UTA Flight 772.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 US and the UK jointly opened up relations with Libya, leading to the removal of sanctions imposed and of Libya's inclusion on the list of countries that sponsor 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Revealed: Gaddafi's air massacre plotTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore, The Times, 2004-03-28</ref>

As of September 2015 about $700 million of funds that Libya gave the US to settle claims related to Libyan sponsored terrorism has not been distributed to families of victims who were Indian passport holders.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Reward and reported killing of accused

Age-progressed color mugshot of Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim

Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Safarini was extradited to the U.S. by the Government of Pakistan.<ref name=cnn/><ref name="ET1"/> He is serving his 160-year sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The other four prisoners were deported by Pakistani authorities to PA in Israel in 2008.<ref name="ET1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Geo News"/> 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.<ref name="StateDept"/>

One of the four, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, was allegedly killed in a drone strike in Pakistan on January 9, 2010.<ref>U.S. airstrike reportedly kills terrorist, Los Angeles Times, 2010-01-16</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In hopes of generating new leads for the alleged hijackers the FBI released new age-progressed images<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> on January 11, 2018. The case is still under investigation by the Washington Field Office of the Bureau.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Aircraft

The aircraft was a four-engined Boeing 747-121 delivered to Pan Am on June 18, 1971, with registration Template:Airreg 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 Airlines in 1988 and then leased it back. The aircraft was returned by Pan Am to Evergreen in April 1991. Evergreen scrapped the aircraft in 2015.Template:Cn

The film Neerja was released on February 19, 2016, depicting the hijacking and crew's efforts from the perspective of senior purser Neerja Bhanot.

A documentary about the hijacking, called Hijacked: Flight 73, was released in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

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Notes

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References

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Bibliography

Further reading

Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1986 Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in Pakistan Template:India–Pakistan relations Template:Pakistan–United States relations Template:Pan Am Template:Authority control

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