View source for Pan Am Flight 73

{{Short description|1986 airliner hijacking}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox Airliner accident
| occurrence_type = Hijacking
| name            = Pan Am Flight 73
| image           = N656PA Boeing 747-121, Miami International, 1983.jpg
| alt             = 
| caption         = N656PA, the aircraft involved in the hijacking, in May 1983
| date            = {{Start date|1986|09|05|df=y}}
| type            = [[Aircraft hijacking|Hijacking]]
| site            = [[Jinnah International Airport]], [[Karachi]], Sindh, Pakistan
| coordinates     = {{coord|24|54|24|N|67|09|39|E|region:PK|display=inline,title}}
| origin          = [[Sahar Airport]], [[Mumbai]], India
| stopover        = [[Jinnah International Airport]], [[Karachi]], Pakistan
| last_stopover   = [[Frankfurt am Main Airport]]<br/>Frankfurt, West Germany
| destination     = [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]], [[New York state|New York]], United States
| occupants       = 379
| passengers      = 360
| crew            = 19
| injuries        = 120
| survivors       = 358
| fatalities      = 21<ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Jordanian Hijacker Sentenced in D.C. for 1986 Hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 as Victims from Around the World Recount Horrors |url=https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/pressrel/press-releases/jordanian-hijacker-sentenced-to-160-years-in-prison-for-deadly-1986-hijacking |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] |date=2004-05-14 |access-date=2017-11-09}}</ref>
| aircraft_type   = [[Boeing 747#747-100|Boeing 747-121]]
| operator        = [[Pan American World Airways]]
| plane1_IATA     = PA73
| aircraft_name   = ''Clipper Empress of the Seas''
| plane1_ICAO     = PAA73
| plane1_callsign = CLIPPER 73
| tail_number     = N656PA
}}
'''Pan Am Flight 73''' was a [[Pan American World Airways]] flight from [[Mumbai|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#747-100|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">{{cite news |url=http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/01/16/pan-am-flight-73-alleged-hijacker-%E2%80%98killed%E2%80%99-drone-attack-pakistan |title=Pan Am Flight-73 alleged hijacker 'killed' in drone attack in Pakistan |newspaper=Asian Tribune }}</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>{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-dc/legacy/2013/08/07/pan_am_73_supersed.pdf |title=United States of America v. Wadoud Muhammad et al Indictment |date=2001-06-11 |website=justice.gov |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |access-date=2015-04-18}}</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>{{cite news |title=24 yrs after Pan Am hijack, Neerja Bhanot killer falls to drone |date=2010-01-17 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/24-yrs-after-Pan-Am-hijack-Neerja-Bhanot-killer-falls-to-drone/articleshow/5454295.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811025707/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-17/us/28149516_1_hijackers-cabin-crew-pakistani-commandos |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |archive-date=2011-08-11 }}</ref>

==Hijacking at Karachi==
Pan Am Flight 73 originated in Mumbai and stopped at the [[Jinnah International Airport|Karachi airport]] for a scheduled stopover at 4:30{{spaces}}a.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. [http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/pan-am-hijack-in-karachi-pakistan-security-forces-handling-of-situation-raises-questions/1/348853.html 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.{{sfn|Ghosh, Flight 73: The Inner Story|2018|loc=Chap.&nbsp;2}} 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 exit#Aircraft|emergency hatch]], via the Inertial Reel Escape Device.{{efn|The Inertial Reel Escape Device consists of five metal cables attached to the roof of the cockpit. Up to five crew can reach the roof through an [[emergency exit#Aircraft|emergency hatch]] and slide down to the ground retarded by the cables.<ref name=IndiaToday/><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y5lNVbBeiU A video demonstrating the Cockpit Escape Reels on a Boeing 747-300], You Tube video.</ref>}}{{efn|According to an ''India Today'' report, [[Neerja Bhanot]], the head purser of the flight, alerted the cockpit crew.<ref name=IndiaToday/> But other accounts indicate that she had a gun pointed to her head at that time.{{sfn|Ghosh, Flight 73: The Inner Story|2018|loc=Chap.&nbsp;2}}<ref name=crew/>}}

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.{{efn|The Pan Am executives supported the decision of the flight crew abandoning the plane. Martin Shugrue, the Chief Operating Officer, stated, "In a situation like this, one of our immediate prime objectives (is to) immobilize the aircraft, turn the aircraft into a building."{{sfn|Ghosh, Flight 73: The Inner Story|2018|loc=Chap.&nbsp;2}}}}<ref name=IndiaToday/><ref name=crew/>{{sfn|Ghosh, Flight 73: The Inner Story|2018|loc=Chap.&nbsp;2}}<ref name=FBI>{{cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel04/051304hijacker.htm |title=Jordanian hijacker sentenced to 160 years in prison for deadly 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 as victims from around the world recount horrors |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Department of Justice |date=2004-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226203531/https://www2.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel04/051304hijacker.htm |archive-date=2016-12-26}}</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>{{cite web | title=Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz Al-Turki | url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/wadoud-muhammad-hafiz-al-turki }}</ref> ("Hafiz") and arrested him a week later.{{sfn|Ghosh, Flight 73: The Inner Story|2018|loc=Chap.&nbsp;2}}<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/file/761996/download 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 [[Indians in Kenya|Kenya-born Indian]] resident of [[Huntington Beach, California]], who had recently been [[Indian American|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]].{{Citation needed|date = March 2017}}

Safarini joined the hijackers and ordered flight attendants Bhanot, Sunshine Vesuwala,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Leonnig|first=Carol D.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/05/13/a-day-of-horror-in-1986-is-relived/a33fe136-831b-43f2-93c7-46f20786373d/|title=A Day of Horror in 1986 Is Relived|date=2004-05-13|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2020-02-21|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and Madhvi Bahuguna<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mohan|first=Megha|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35800683|title=Inside a hijack: The unheard stories of the Pan Am 73 crew|date=2016-03-31|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2020-02-21|language=en-GB}}</ref> to begin collecting passports. They complied with this request. During the collection of the passports, believing passengers with [[American passport]]s 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">{{cite book |last1=Thexton |first1=Mike |title=What happened to the hippy man |date=2006 |publisher=Lanista Partners Ltd |location=Great Britain |isbn=0-9553185-0-5 |pages=48–50 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DBfkPAAACAAJ}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=December 2018}}

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>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65430030 | title=Pan Am flight 73 hostage learns from hijacker why life was spared | publisher=BBC News | date=May 2, 2023 }}</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.{{Citation needed |date = January 2018}}

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">{{cite news |author=Deborah Linton |date=April 2023 |title=I survived the world's most infamous plane hijack – years later, the terrorist told me why |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/17/my-call-terrorist-who-held-me-at-gunpoint-pan-am-73/ |location=UK}}</ref>

The hijack stalemate continued on into the night. During the stalemate, Dick Melhart{{who|reason=This name is appearing here for the first time and we have no idea who he is (e.g. passenger?|date=February 2025}} was positioned by the door and was able to unlock it when the firing started.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Markham|first1=James M.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/08/world/jet-survivors-say-army-didn-t-help.html|title=Jet Survivors Say Army Didn't Help|date=1986-09-08|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2020-02-21|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</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.{{Citation needed |date = March 2017}}

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>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35800683 |title=Inside a hijack: The unheard stories of the Pan Am 73 crew |first=Megha |last=Mohan |date=2016-03-31 |publisher=BBC 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 20{{nbs}}feet ({{convert|20|ft|m|abbr=off|disp=out}})<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">{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/I-saw-Neerja-being-shot-in-the-head/articleshow/51034521.cms|title='I saw Neerja being shot in the head' {{pipe}} Bengaluru News|website=The Times of India|date=2016-02-18|author=Shilpa Baburaj|access-date=2020-12-21}}</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>{{Cite news |last=Aftab |first=Mohammed |date=September 6, 1986 |title=At least 17 die in hijack in Pakistan |page=1 |work=Manchester Herald |url=http://www.manchesterhistory.org/News/Manchester%20Evening%20Hearld_1986-09-06.pdf |access-date=March 18, 2023}}</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>{{Cite web |last=Tempest |first=Rone |date=1986-09-10 |title=Confusion Amid Pan Am Hijacking : Pakistani Rescue Effort: Case of Too Many Leaders |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-09-10-mn-13211-story.html |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</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 {{nowrap|countries{{tsp}}{{mdash}}}}{{tsp}}India, Italy, and the United {{nowrap|Kingdom{{tsp}}{{mdash}}}}{{tsp}}together represented the bulk (71%) of those killed.

===Nationalities===
{{citation needed |date=October 2015}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="350px"
|-
!Nationality !!Passengers !!Crew !!Total!!Victims
|-
|align="left"| Australia ||4 ||0 ||4||2
|-
|align="left"| Belgium ||2 ||0 ||2||0
|-
|align="left"| Canada ||30 ||0 ||30||0
|-
|align="left"| Denmark ||8 ||0 ||8||2
|-
|align="left"| France ||4 ||1 ||5||0
|-
|align="left"| India ||91 ||8 ||99||12
|-
|align="left"| Ireland ||5 ||0 ||5||4
|-
|align="left"| Italy ||27 ||0 ||27||13
|-
|align="left"| Mexico ||8 ||0 ||8||0
|-
|align="left"| Pakistan||44 ||0 ||44||0
|-
|align="left"| Sweden ||2 ||0 ||2||0
|-
|align="left"| United Kingdom ||15 ||4 ||19||11
|-
|align="left"| United States ||44 ||0 ||44||2
|-
|align="left"| West Germany ||81 ||3 ||84||0
|-style="background:WhiteSmoke;"
!'''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">{{cite web |title=Act of Terror: Seeking Information Leading to Those Responsible: Pan Am Flight 73 Hijacking |url=https://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/pan_am_73.html |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=2016-06-25 |archive-date=March 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319024233/https://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/pan_am_73.html |url-status=dead }}</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">{{Cite news|date=2001-10-01|title=Suspect in 1986 hijacking brought to U.S. for trial|work=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/10/01/inv.panam.hijacking.suspect/}}</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">{{cite web|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/177622-fbi-releases-age-processed-pictures-of-four-1988-pan-am-hijacking-suspects|title=FBI releases age-processed pictures of four 1986 Pan Am hijacking suspects|work=Geo News|date=19 January 2018}}</ref>

==Libyan involvement and legal action==
[[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">{{cite news|author=Arieff|first=Irwin|date=2003-08-16|title=Libya takes blame for Lockerbie bombing|newspaper=Independent Online|url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/libya-takes-blame-for-lockerbie-bombing-1.111103}}</ref> Libya offered US$2.7&nbsp;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&nbsp;million to the families of the 170 victims of UTA Flight 772.<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Craig S.|date=2004-01-10|title=Libya Will Pay $170 Million In Bombing of French Airliner|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/10/world/libya-will-pay-170-million-in-bombing-of-french-airliner.html|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The seven American UTA victims' families refused the offer and instead filed a claim for $2.2&nbsp;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 [[USD|$10&nbsp;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>{{cite web|date=2006-04-05|title=Victims of September 1986 Hijacking of Pan Am 73 File US$10 Billion... -- WASHINGTON, April 5 /PR Newswire UK/ --|url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/victims-of-september-1986-hijacking-of-pan-am-73-file-us10-billion-suit-against-libya-156222575.html|access-date=2015-11-13|website=prnewswire.co.uk|publisher=CROWELL & MORING LLP}}</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>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1052614.ece Revealed: Gaddafi's air massacre plot]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, [[The Times]], 2004-03-28</ref>

As of September 2015 about $700&nbsp;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>{{cite news|date=2015-09-29|title=1986 Pan Am survivors pin hopes on Modi|work=The Times of India|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1986-Pan-Am-survivors-pin-hopes-on-Modi/articleshow/49150259.cms}}</ref>

==Reward and reported killing of accused==
[[File:Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim age progression.jpg|thumb|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">{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/neerja-bhanot-killing-fbi-releases-age-progressed-images-of-4-wanted-hijack-suspects/articleshow/62574596.cms|title=Neerja Bhanot killing: FBI releases age-progressed images of 4 wanted hijack suspects|work=Economic Times}}</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>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100119182720/http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-pakistan-terrorist16-2010jan16,0,672698.story 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>{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/jamal-saeed-abdul-rahim|title=FBI most wanted terrorist : JAMAL SAEED ABDUL RAHIM|publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Rewards for Justice – Wanted for Terrorism – Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim|url=https://rewardsforjustice.net/english/jamal_rahim.html|access-date=2020-09-10|language=en|archive-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616030150/https://rewardsforjustice.net/english/jamal_rahim.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In hopes of generating new leads for the alleged hijackers the FBI released new age-progressed images<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/new-images-released-in-1986-hijacking-case|title=New Images Released in 1986 Hijacking Case — FBI|accessdate=September 6, 2024}}</ref> on January 11, 2018. The case is still under investigation by the Washington Field Office of the Bureau.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/new-images-released-in-1986-hijacking-case |title=New Images Released in 1986 Hijacking Case |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation |language=en-us |access-date=2018-01-12}}</ref>

==Aircraft==
The aircraft was a four-engined [[Boeing 747#747-100|Boeing 747-121]] delivered to [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] on June 18, 1971, with [[Aircraft registration|registration]] {{Airreg|N|656PA}} 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.{{cn|date=November 2025}}

==In popular culture==
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>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27721398/reference/|title=Hijacked: Flight 73 (2023) - IMDb|accessdate=September 6, 2024|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Pakistan|United States|1980s|Aviation}}
* [[1986 Bombing of Libya]]
* [[List of Pan American World Airways accidents and incidents]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation |last=Ghosh |first=Tarak |title=Flight 73: The Inner Story |publisher=BookRix GmbH & Co. KG |location=Munich |date=2018 |isbn=9783743848634 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvRFDwAAQBAJ |ref={{sfnref|Ghosh, Flight 73: The Inner Story|2018}}}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |title='I survived the world's most infamous plane hijack – years later, the terrorist told me why' |website=The Telegraph |date=17 Apr 2023 |author=Deborah Linton |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/17/my-call-terrorist-who-held-me-at-gunpoint-pan-am-73/}}
* Stettler, Jeremaiah. "[http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/52420857-90/majid-hijacking-pan-flight.html.csp 25 years later, experiencing Pan Am hijacking still haunts Utahn]." ''[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]''. August 7, 2014.
* "[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/crew-members-inspect-every-row-of-aircraft-prior-to-news-footage/450000364 New Security Measures for Pan Am Airlines] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130033430/https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/crew-members-inspect-every-row-of-aircraft-prior-to-news-footage/450000364 |date=2020-01-30 }}." ''[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]''. December 6, 1986. [[Getty Images]] Clip #450000364

==External links==
*[https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/victim-witness-assistance/hijacking-pan-am-flight-73/significant-events Hijacking of Pan AM Flight 73: Significant Events], The United States Attorney's Office, US Department of Justice, 25 February 2016.
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/dc/Victim_Witness_Assistance/Pan_Am_73.html U.S. Department of Justice Attorney's Office For the District of Columbia] Information on court proceedings of Pan Am Flight 73
* "[https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2001/October/508ag.htm UNITED STATES ARRESTS KNOWN HIGHJACKER FROM PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS FLIGHT 73]" ( {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010081336/http://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2001/October/508ag.htm |date=2015-10-10 }}). [[U.S. Department of Justice]]. Monday October 1, 2001.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161226203531/https://www2.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel04/051304hijacker.htm U.S. Department of Justice May 13, 2004, press release] on the Pan Am Flight 73 criminal case
* [[Crowell & Moring]] Pan Am Flight 73 [http://www.crowell.com/PracticeAreas/Page.aspx?id=60&cid=312 civil suit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015172303/http://www.crowell.com/PracticeAreas/Page.aspx?id=60&cid=312 |date=October 15, 2007 }} against Libya, Gaddafi and the five hijackers
* Naqvi, Jawed. "[http://www.dawn.com/news/1116156/this-karachi-nightmare-and-that This Karachi nightmare and that]." ''[[Dawn News|Dawn]]''. July 1, 2014.
* For the book by Mike Thexton about his experience on Pan Am Flight 73, 'What happened to the Hippy Man?', see [https://web.archive.org/web/20170420115018/http://www.hippyman.com/ the book's web page]
* [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=N656PA Photos of the airliner at airliners.net]
* "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/5/newsid_4576000/4576765.stm Karachi hijack ends in bloodshed]." [[bbc.co.uk]].
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEIAG1uL8f0 Pan Am Flight 73 September 1986 Karachi ABC News Nightline], September 6, 1986. YouTube video. uploaded December 26, 2017.
*Macneil, Robert, & Lehrer, Lim. "[http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_507-tx3513vs9n Flight 073: What Happened? What Next?]" ''[[The MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour|The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour]].'' September 5, 1986
*[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35800683 Inside a hijack: The unheard stories of the Pan Am 73 crew]
*[https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/08/world/jet-survivors-say-army-didn-t-help.html Jet Survivors Say Army Didn't Help]

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

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