 N656PA, the aircraft involved in the hijacking, in May 1983 | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 5, 1986 |
| Summary | Hijacking |
| Site | Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan 24°54′24″N 67°09′39″E / 24.90667°N 67.16083°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-121 |
| Aircraft name | Clipper Empress of the Seas |
| Operator | Pan American World Airways |
| Registration | N656PA |
| Flight origin | Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Mumbai, India |
| Stopover | Jinnah International Airport Karachi, Pakistan |
| Last stopover | Frankfurt am Main Airport Frankfurt, West Germany |
| Destination | John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport New York City, United States |
| Occupants | 379 |
| Passengers | 360 |
| Crew | 19 |
| Fatalities | 21[1] |
| Injuries | 120 |
| Survivors | 358 |
Pan Am Flight 73 was a Pan American World Airways flight from Bombay, India, to New York, 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.[2] 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.[3]
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. Neerja Bhanot, head attendant on the flight, was shot dead and posthumously received the fourth highest civil award, the Tamgha-e-Pakistan from Pakistan as well as India's highest peacetime award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra Award, for her efforts to save passengers' lives.[4]
- ^ "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. May 14, 2004. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- ^ "Pan Am Flight-73 alleged hijacker 'killed' in drone attack in Pakistan". Asian Tribune.
- ^ "United States of America v. Wadoud Muhammad et al Indictment" (PDF). justice.gov. United States Department of Justice. June 11, 2001. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
- ^ "24 yrs after Pan Am hijack, Neerja Bhanot killer falls to drone". The Times of India. January 17, 2010. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011.