The 1986 Hijacking Of Pan Am Flight 73 That Ended With 20 Dead And Hundreds More Injured

Pan Am Flight 73 was a scheduled flight from Bombay (now Mumbai), India, to New York, United States, with stopovers in Karachi, Pakistan, and Frankfurt, West Germany. On September 5, 1986, the Boeing 747-121 was hijacked while it was on the ground at Karachi airport by four armed Palestinian terrorists associated with the Abu Nidal Organisation.

Early Morning at Karachi Airport

Pan Am Flight 73 had just arrived in Karachi at 4:30 a.m. from Bombay. The flight was carrying 394 passengers, including 9 infants, alongside an American flight crew and 13 Indian flight attendants. As 109 passengers disembarked in Karachi, the first busload of new passengers approached the aircraft. It was at this moment that the hijackers struck.

The crew of Pan Am Flight 73.

The Hijackers Take Control

The four hijackers, dressed as Karachi airport security guards and armed with assault rifles, pistols, grenades, and explosive belts, approached the aircraft in a van modified to resemble an airport security vehicle. They drove through a security checkpoint and up to the boarding stairway of Pan Am Flight 73. Upon reaching the aircraft, they fired shots into the air and stormed aboard.

One of the flight attendants, Neerja Bhanot, managed to relay the hijack code to the cockpit crew, who then escaped through an overhead emergency hatch, immobilizing the aircraft as they did. The hijackers took control of the plane approximately 40 minutes after it landed, trapping the remaining passengers and crew.

Demands and Tensions

Realising that the cockpit crew had escaped, the lead hijacker, Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Safarini, was forced to negotiate with airport officials. The hijackers moved passengers around the aircraft, ordering first and business class passengers to the back and those at the back to move forward, creating a chaotic and crowded situation inside the plane.

The First Casualty

At around 10:00 a.m., Safarini called out Rajesh Kumar, a 29-year-old American citizen of Indian origin. Safarini took Kumar to the front of the aircraft, knelt him at the doorway, and demanded that the crew return to the plane within 30 minutes. When his demands were not met, Safarini shot Kumar in the head and threw his body out of the plane.

Collection of Passports

Safarini then ordered flight attendants Neerja Bhanot, Sunshine Vesuwala, and Madhvi Bahuguna to collect the passengers’ passports. The attendants, anticipating that American passengers would be singled out, hid some of the American passports and disposed of others down a rubbish chute. Despite the collection of passports, the hijackers were unable to systematically identify all American citizens on board.

Flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, who was shot dead.

The Stalemate

As negotiations dragged on into the night, the situation inside the aircraft became increasingly tense. At around 9:00 p.m., the auxiliary power unit shut down, plunging the plane into darkness except for emergency lights. The hijackers, in a desperate move, decided to detonate explosives. However, their attempt to cause a massive explosion failed.

The Assault and Escape

The hijackers then began shooting indiscriminately into the cabin and throwing grenades. Despite the chaos, crew members and passengers managed to open some of the aircraft doors. Neerja Bhanot, along with other crew members, bravely guided passengers to safety before escaping themselves.

Pakistani Special Service Group (SSG) commandos stormed the aircraft, but by the time they reached the plane, many passengers had already begun escaping on their own. The SSG’s intervention helped to end the hijacking, but not before over twenty passengers had been killed.

Aftermath and Legal Proceedings

Sentencing of the Hijackers

On July 6, 1988, the five hijackers were convicted in Pakistan and sentenced to death. The sentences were later commuted to life in prison. In 2001, Safarini was handed over to the FBI and taken to the United States, where he was sentenced to 160 years in prison in 2005. The other four hijackers were deported to Palestinian Authority territory in Israel in 2008.

The injured victims being evacuated to a U.S. military hospital in Germany.

Neerja Bhanot’s Heroism

Neerja Bhanot’s courageous actions during the hijacking saved many lives. She was posthumously awarded the Tamgha-e-Pakistan, Pakistan’s fourth-highest civilian award, and India’s highest peacetime gallantry award, the Ashok Chakra.

Libyan Involvement

Libya was accused of sponsoring the hijacking, as well as the bombings of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 and UTA Flight 772 in 1989. In 2006, victims and families of Pan Am Flight 73 filed a civil suit seeking damages from Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi, and the hijackers, alleging Libyan support for the attack.

Ongoing Efforts for Justice

In 2009, the FBI announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the remaining hijackers. One hijacker, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, was reportedly killed in a drone strike in 2010, although this remains unconfirmed.

The bloodstained shoes of injured or dead passengers at Karachi airport on Sept. 7, 1986.

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